Testing the Waters
by Rockinyoyo
Summary: They would go against all odds to be together, but the odds include, a rebel leader who stops at nothing to get what he wants, a husband that was betrayed, and a war on all sides, things won't be easy and now they are fighting for their lives.
1. Prologue

_**READ THE BELOW IT IS IMPORTANT IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON!!!**_

**I couldn't resist. I was having an inner fight about posting it today and not tomorrow but my inner won out i guess. So here is my new story. **

**This story is dedicated to all of those who have read, reviewed, alerted and favorited my other stories. you guys and gals are the greatest!**

**TESTING THE WATERS:**

_Summary:_

_Conflict through the five great nations has caused a stir among all the hidden villages and their Daimyo's, when a Rebel group starts plundering defenseless villages in all nations. when the only chance of calming a civil war in the fire country is an arranged marriage between the Daimyo's son and a kunoichi or civilian woman of Konoha who will be the chosen one to end the beginning of a civil war and what lies ahead for her as the wife of the Daimyo's son._

_Uchiha Sasuke has completed his goal of killing Itachi and the Akatsuki are destroyed. he receives word of a possible civil war in the fire country and then the arrangements that have been made to quench the civil war. helping a supposed honorable group of rebels he takes on a mission that will make him question his loyalties to the rebels, himself and the one person he thought he would never see again._

_Lives become intertwined. What happens when lust and fear take over all other emotions. what will happen to the fire country when decisions are made by friends and enemies and a now forbidden love makes itself known to everyone? And will the forbidden lovers get what they want in the end?_

**Rating: M: for mature themes and situations, including, violence, death, sensuality (Maybe lime/lemons if i feel it is appropriate) and other mature themes. **

Before you ask about the limes/lemon things i will only put one in if i feel it is really relevant to the story line not because i feel like it. it has to be relevant to the story line. 

**Genres: Drama, Romance, angst at times, slight humor, hurt/comfort, tragedy, suspense, and adventure. a mix of just about everything.**

_**Also for this story it will take a few chapters before we get to the big storyline. I am currently writing chapter 5 and i have just started getting into the real action and juicy things. hehe! **_

**Updating: i am usually a good updater. i will post every 5-7 days because i am trying to make these chapters long and interesting so bear with that. also looking for a job that takes priority over fanfiction. i am currently looking and will hope to have one soon. my brother is also returning from a foreign country in about two weeks and we will probably share the computer, icky, but i have to deal with it. so to give me time 5-7 days, and i will probably be doing my writing either early in the morning or late at night. but these chapters do take time. editing them is a pain.**

**So without further ado, to the story. **

**TESTING THE WATERS  
**

* * *

**Prologue**

She felt cold though the air was warm. Unconsciously her body shivered and she felt a tug from the fabric that was being wrapped around her body.

"Keep still." A rough feminine voice commanded. The woman stood stock still not wanting to anger the elderly lady any further. The woman had seemed rough since the first time she had met the graying haired lady. She had half wondered if the lady was so grouchy because her bun was to tight on her head. The old ladies face seemed to be slightly lifted and her gray-blue eyes were slitted almost like a snakes.

Her gaze went to the window of the room and then out into the nature surrounding the structure she was in. The trees seemed to be in full bloom and several petals wisped through the air as the gentle wind blew them onwards to other places, to let other people enjoy them as much as she had.

A tear pricked the corner of her eye. How she wished right now that she could wisped away from this temple. The temple of the Fire Country. How she could be wisped away and return to her home where she had grown up. To the village that she lived in, loved and protected.

* * *

She knew little of why exactly she was in this room and being dressed up for the upcoming ceremony. There had been talk around all the village that the Daimyo was getting upset with the village because of the recent attacks being made. The Akatsuki had been defeated around a year ago but now a group of rebels had shown up around the country and the other countries.

The Rebel group was not be undermined. They had been wrecking havoc among all the countries and had demolished villages in each country. They were supposed missing nin from all the countries and had been rampaging towns in every country, but the Fire Country had been hit the hardest. Almost every week a new report came up of rebel attacks against innocent villages with the towns being ransacked with no survivors ever being found.

The Daimyos of the lands had recently met along with many of the kages to determine what should be done. All the hidden villages seemed to be on neutral territory as of now so that the rebels could be destroyed but because of insufficient action in the beginning the group of rebels had grown and were now causing more trouble than had been anticipated.

The Fire Country's Daimyo had personally made threats against the Village Hidden in the Leaves, though threats and accusations had gone both ways. Right now the Fire Country was in disarray. The non-ninja villages feared for their safety while the protectors and leaders of the Fire Country battled between and against themselves.

In the end the the Hokage and Daimyo had agreed on an alliance though they were fighting for the same country. The counselors had advised them to make an agreement that would be honored and to let the fighting come to a halt.

The counselors of the Daimyo suggested an arranged marriage between a Konoha kunoichi or civilian woman of great worth to marry the Daimyo's son. Like in other arranged marriages that were used to form alliances between hidden villages, it would secure the peacefulness of the countries leader. The leaders would have to cooperate with one another for the sake of the kunoichi or the civilian woman.

Lady Tsunade, she had heard, had reluctantly agreed to the terms so long as she could pick the kunoichi or civilian to wed the Daimyo's son. However that plan ended when the Daimyo's son personally came to the hidden village to scout for himself.

The Daimyo's son had picked a woman to his liking within the first day of his stay. Notifying his father and the Hokage of his decision he told them he wouldn't go through the marriage if it wasn't her. The Hokage had thrown a fit and vehemently argued against the choice but the Daimyo and the counselors of him and the Hokage reminded her of the peace that was needed between the leaders to help settle the country from erupting into a civil war.

Knowing that if the marriage didn't happen that the Fire Country would go into an uproar and a civil war would most likely erupt, Lady Tsunade had eventually agreed and the contract was signed and the woman was informed of the proceedings.

That was why she was here. To quench a civil war she would have to marry a man she had never seen before. A man she knew nothing of and in her twenty years of life she never would have imagined getting married this way.

She only wanted to settle down with a man of her choosing and her own free will. Not to marry a complete stranger that would do who knows what to her. It unsettled her to marry a man she had never seen or talked to before and she was sure there would be no love between them whatsoever.

A tear finally slipped and splashed to the floor leaving a wet trail on her cheek.

"Don't cry." came the snappy voice. She only nodded her head.

"You should be grateful. You are saving this forsaken country from going under and into a civil war. Those rebels are causing too much of a ruckus in this country. They should go attack another forsaken country. I've heard that your Konoha's Uchiha brat is with the rebels. Some clan that was." the old woman huffed.

She wanted to strangle the woman for saying something so crude against Konoha and against the Noble Uchiha Clan. This woman knew nothing of the real Uchiha Clan. She shouldn't talk against a high clan in such disrespect.

"There you go." the woman tied the last string on the back a tug causing the girl to gasp for lack of air she suddenly didn't get.

"My, my. I must say you are a pretty little thing when you want to be. I must have sworn for ten minutes when I first saw you. In that ninja garb looking like something a cat dragged in." the woman took offense but didn't show it.

"The Heir must have seen something under all that filth and I must say he did." she fingered the gown slightly before barking something to some waiting girls out in the hall.

"Well know that you are all ready to go. I say we get this ceremony under way. I'm sure the Hokage and the Daimyo need to get back to more important things, like getting rid of those dang rebels than to see a wedding ceremony."

The grayed haired woman led the younger one to the doors but before she opened them the woman rounded on the younger one.

"Now listen. As soon as you marry Daisuke-sama you will no longer be needed as a shinobi. Get used to that idea. You will no longer go gallivanting around the country or other countries and you will no longer be needed as a medic nin. You are only here to please Daisuke-sama. Is that understood? " the older woman threw open the doors before she could even reply and the old woman led the young bride down the hallway down several steps and crossed a courtyard to enter into the main temple where the ceremony would begin.

* * *

The large doors of the main temple groaned heavily as they were again pushed open. The younger woman was then given to several other younger woman to be attended by while the older one went her own way.

The girls she was with now were older than her by a couple years she guessed but they giggled just like little school girls fawning over the cutest boy in the class, like she had done so many years ago.

"You are so luck to be getting married to Daisuke-sama." one said almost to giddily for the youngest ones liking. Her orbs went to the stone ground. Soon it was time for the ceremony was to begin. The women that were with her left to walk into the hallway before she made her way to the opening. A tap on her shoulder made her head wheel around.

"Kakashi?" she asked quietly.

"Tsunade-sama sent me. She wants me to escort you down to the Daimyo's son." he whispered back. A look of happiness passed over her face. He would miss her smile and her happiness around the village. "Come." he motioned and with that the two walked into the hallway.

The man she now looked at was to be her husband. He had striking features. Tanned skin that still seemed fair. Dark ocean blue eyes that made her feel like crying right now and midnight black hair, carefully groomed. He was well built, being several inches taller than her and quite broad in his chest area and becoming narrower as his body went down. He was tall and lithe.

She didn't hear the priest's words as he was going through the ceremony. She only awakened from her reverie when her name was called.

"Haruno Sakura, do you take Furusawa Daisuke as your husband?" it was a simple question yet the answer would change her life forever. She could feel those ocean blue eyes on her.

"I do." she stated quietly.

"Furusawa Daisuke, do you take Haruno Sakura as your wife?" his reply was immediate.

"I do." Sakura missed the rest of the priest's words and only moved when Daisuke took her hand in his and slid a silver band on her ring finger on her left hand. She stared down at the silver band. She wanted to retch. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening to _her_.

She only accepted it was happening when Daisuke leaned down to kiss her. She tilted her head slightly upwards to make it look like she was an actual willing participant in this. She hated the idea of arranged marriages and now she was in one, after Daisuke's lips left hers.

Looking into his eyes, she saw the unhidden and unabashed lust he held in them and inwardly she cringed and on the outside made no emotion to portray that she was disgusted with this man and herself for being talking into this.

* * *

There was a festival that night at the Daimyo's estate. During the festivities Sakura saw Lady Tsunade come over to her.  
"Sakura." it was all the Hokage could say.

"Don't worry about it shishou." Sakura whispered only to be engulfed in a hug.

"I'm sorry." the Hokage whispered to her student.

"Shishou. There was no other way. Let me help my village and my country."

"You always did care for others more than yourself. Take care of yourself Sakura."

"I will." Sakura whispered, before the Hokage left her side.

The festivities went on for a while longer before the Daimyo declared them over. Just as Daisuke was about to take Sakura with him Naruto came by and stopped him.

"Sakura-chan." Naruto said looking down at his teammate. Tears watered his eyes and before the other knew what was happening they were clinging to each other.

"Take care of yourself Naruto." Sakura whispered in his ear.

"You too Sakura-chan."

"Sakura." Daisuke's voice called. He gave her a look that told her it was time for her to say goodbye.

"Goodye Naruto." she said quickly before letting go of her teammate and brother. She went over to where Daisuke was waiting for and before she completely had her back to Naruto she saw him give her a small wave.

* * *

Daisuke led them through a courtyard and then into a building. They went though several hallways before stopping in front of a door. Daisuke rounded on her.

"You know what you're duties are?" he asked calmly. She nodded.

"You know what you must do?" she nodded again.

"You are my wife now and tonight we consummate our marriage." a nod.

He opened the doors and led her inside before closing them. He led Sakura over to the large bed that was at the far end of the room. Gently picking her up he set her on the bed with him following, on top of her.

"You will learn to love me in time." he said before kissing her in a way she only wished one man would kiss her, but she didn't even know where he was or what he was doing.

* * *

**So how was it. I know a little slow, but next chapter will be better i promise and longer as well. if you have ANY questions please don't hesitate to ask. i want you to understand the please if you have any questions please ask, i don't bite. **

**Update: I won't make you wait until next Friday for chapter 1 so i will update Sunday this time. so watch out for the first chapter then.**

**So please review and let me know what you think of it. good, bad, don't like, don't care? please please please!!!**

**yoyo  
**


	2. Chapter 1: In the Night

**Here is the official chapter one. hope you enjoy it.**

**thanks for all the alerts and favorites, lets work on the reviews and thanks to EthiopianPrincess for the first review. **

**Disclaimer: DNON**

_**Read bottom AN for something i might do.**_

**Enjoy  
**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**In the Night  
**

* * *

**Unknown Location**

**Village pub**

It was a wonder that anyone would want to be out on this night. The sky was covered in clouds and only once in a short while would the moon seep out from behind the darkened sky to light up the night. The night air was cold and rain fell unmercifully to the ground below while the wind raged through the air.

The wind howled causing the rain beat against the wooden walls of the tavern. Four men sat gathered close together around a lamp with sake glasses littered around the table. The four crowded together for heat and to talk privately about their matters of business.

"The Daimyo's son of the Fire Country just recently married a kunoichi from Konoha. Or so sources say." a deep voice drawled.

"This pushes things back. The civil war was supposed to break out. That dang Hokage. Messing with our plans unknowingly." A younger voice snapped.

"This could help us." a bored voice resounded.

"How?" the young one snapped.

"There's an alliance now, but the leaders are still tense and the villagers everywhere are still uncertain. We can stage an assassination by Konoha on the Daimyo's son. They'll think it was his wife following orders. We get a civil war to break out and two important people to perish." the bored

voice spoke casually.

"Who is the girl?" the deep voice asked.

"The Hokage's apprentice or so I've heard." boredom leaked out of his mouth.

"Interesting." the deep voice commented.

"Who would kill the son though?" the young one snapped.

"I know just the person." A new voice spoke from the corner. His three companions just looked at him.

* * *

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

* * *

"Report." Tsunade barked to the jonin in front of her.

"A village on the borders of Earth was destroyed. No witnesses or survivors. Everyone was killed." the jonin reported. He leaned back when a hard crashing of a fist hit the wooden desk.

"Does anyone know anything about these blasted rebels?"

"No Hokage-sama. No one has even seen what they look like. We are assuming they are from the Bingo books." the Jonin reported. "We are gathering from all the other hidden villages. Though some are not s-class criminals. Most likely defective shinobi from villages. Reports of all defective shinobi are also being taken into count."

"Good. I want all the information as soon as possible."

"Hai Hokage-sama."

Tsunade lifted her sake bottle and drank heavily. It had been two weeks since she had practically married Sakura off to the Daimyo's son for a stupid arranged marriage. She could still see Sakura's face when she had first let her apprentice know of the deal.

Sakura's face had shown dread, confusion, fear, uncertainty, and anger. She had questioned why and when and to what purpose it would serve. The hokage planted her head into her hands and remembered Sakura's last words. She would do it for her home and country. But Sakura was stupid, so stupid.

In the contract that had been written up it was said that Sakura was not to perform shinobi duties. She would not be let out onto a battlefield and could not be asked for any assistance whatsoever. She would be turned into a doll under the Daimyo's thumb.

She knew the Daimyo was a hard man. That was one of his attributes that helped cause this entire fiasco. Blaming Konoha for the sudden attacks that left no evidence of who could have done it.

They still had nothing to go off besides the fact that the group was a rebel group formed about eight months before. The attacks in the beginning had been small but then they grew. Targeting larger villages and killing everyone.

The Fire country had been hit the worst and the Daimyo had started complaining and throwing blame to everyone but himself. It was Konoha's job to protect the people of this country and they weren't doing their job.

Soon enough with all the fighting between the leaders, the villagers in all the cities became panicked and soon enough rumors of a civil war between the people and the Daimyo and her herself were scurrying around trying to secure the country's peace.

When the Daimyo had heard of the rumors he had come straight to her demanding an explanation. Of course the one he got was one that was not what he wanted to hear. Then the counselors got involved, and that just created an even bigger mess.

After weeks of debating, arguing, and throwing something every once in a while the counselors knew that there needed to be a solution to keep us at peace. An arranged marriage.

Tsunade grabbed the sake bottle sitting at the edge of her desk. She hated the idea of having an arranged marriage just to settle their quarrels but when everyone but her was for it, things don't always go your way.

There was a knock at the door. Amber eyes shot towards the door. She annoyingly called for them to enter and set down her sake bottle. Her black haired assistant walked through the door carrying several scrolls in her arms.

Setting the scrolls down on the desk. Shizune began her report of what was going on.

"These are from the other hidden villages. The attacks have seemed to be getting more intense. A large city in Earth was attacked. There are hardly any survivors." Shizune was going to continue but was stopped by a loud curse from her Hokage.

"Kuso! Why aren't we doing anything?" Tsunade practically yelled at her assistant.

"Ano, Tsunade-sama, we are trying."

"Not hard enough. I want the names of all the rebels. Send an ANBU squad to the city. I want information and I want it now!" The hokage barked making Shizune take a step back before rushing out of the room to find an ANBU squad to head to Earth.

A loud crash echoed through the tower. Shinobi in the tower looked in the direction of the Hokage's office for a moment before going back to their positions and duties.

The honey colored hair was tangled in the Hokage's fingers. She was pissed and everyone knew it.

* * *

**Two Weeks Earlier**

**Daimyo's Estate**

* * *

Her breath had calmed considerably considering what she had just done with her new husband. She was sure he was asleep but even in sleep he held her down. He was lying on his back with one arm wrapped around her back preventing her from moving.

Her now bare chest was pressed intimately against her husbands rock solid one. Her hand laid unmoving on his side farthest from her and her head rested on his upper torso, pink hair splayed out over his chest.

She didn't hate this man, but she didn't like him either. Though he made her feel wonderful there was still something in her that he would probably never awaken. She could already tell when he had first started that he liked being the dominant one, and she assumed that was how it would be in her married life as well.

All she wanted right now was to be back in Konoha, in her own apartment. With her friends only a shout away and her job still there in the morning. Now all she had was a dominating husband that would make sure she would do nothing and a father-in-law that would be overbearing.

Slowly sleep took over her and right before she fell asleep she felt the hand around her shift slightly before falling quiet again and unmoving. She almost wished tomorrow or the late morning would never come.

She awoke in the morning to see her new husband sitting on the edge of the bed pulling a shirt over his head. His muscled back corded and bunched as he put on the shirt before standing to put on his pants. Green eyes followed his movements as he moved around the room.

She saw him finally look back at her and when he noticed she was awake he moved to her side, putting himself on the bed near her. Her hands reached for the sheets to cover her chest. Her movements caused him to smirk.

He gave her a long kiss that she wished would end before he actually spoke to her for the first time that morning.

"Morning Sakura." his deep voice rolled. "I wasn't expecting you up so early. There are clothes in the wardrobe for you and the bathroom is just over there." he pointed in the direction and she nodded. "There will be breakfast ready when you want it. Your servant will be up shortly to help you."

She nodded at his words, inwardly grimacing at the fact that she would be having a maid waiting on her. The thought made her uncomfortable. She had always taken care of herself. This was all new to her but she knew that the Daimyo and his son expected her to be waited upon.

She watched as he left the room closing the door behind him. Not getting a good look at the room the night before she took her time in looking around the room. It was large. Wooden walls, wooden floors with mats over parts, the bed was large and comfortable with silk sheets.

Her body thumped back onto the bed sheets entangling themselves even more around her as her body was now in an awkward laying position. Emerald eyes stared at the wooden ceiling that sloped upwards.

After lazily laying in bed for another few minutes she soon found herself struggling to get out of the bed and towards the shower to rid herself of a foul smell that seemed to radiate from her. Stepping into the warm water she erased her thoughts of last night and began to enjoy the relaxing water.

Her mouth was agape as she looked at the wardrobe her husband had so fondly put together for her. Kimonos and in different lengths, styles, and colors and patterns. An eyebrow quirked at seeing the vast array before her.

Sliding a hand over each kimono she held the robe closer to her body. Finally gaping enough she picked a rose colored kimono that had a black obi to accompany it. Sliding on the crème colored underlying part of the kimono she overlapped the cloth before slipping on the rose colored silk kimono and tying the obi efficiently.

Bare feet soundlessly stepped on the polished wooden floor. The estate was large and she had to find her way, by herself to wear the dining area might be. Luckily, yet not so luckily Daisuke found her and escorted her the rest of the way to the dining area.

The breakfast was small yet filling and for the rest of the day she explored the estate. She found particular interest in the garden area. There was a gazebo, several small streams leading to a central pond, bridges, and koi fish swimming in the water.

Lily pads floated on the water's surface with their flowers in full bloom. Her image reflected back to her. Though she didn't wear the traditional make-up princesses usually wore she could hardly recognize herself.

She wasn't used to doing nothing. By now she would either be in the hospital or being being dispatched to another raided village to help and pray for survivors. But not now. Now she walked around an estate she hardly knew and was living with complete strangers.

* * *

**Daimyo's Estate **

**Current Time**

* * *

Her gaze was again lifted to the ceiling. That was how she now spent her mornings. Instead of waking up early and going to work she now laid in bed and waited for the pain to reside in her nether regions.

Daisuke always seemed to be rough with her. She never really expected him to be nice and gentle. He was the sort of man that would take what he wanted when he wanted it and he had shown that over the past two weeks.

She felt him shift on the bed. Her back was towards him as he continued to sleep. It was nearing dawn and yet she was still up, him only having quit his earlier activities a few hours earlier in the early morning.

Another shift on the bed and soon she felt a fingertips grazing her back slowly and almost sensually. Soon she felt him turning her over to face him and she did so without a fight. His blue eyes gazed at her face before moving away and looking elsewhere and then returned to her own emerald.

She resisted her stiffness when she felt his lips come upon her collar bone and begin to plant sweet kisses. He was usually never this gentle and she figured it wouldn't last long before he would demand something.

He suddenly pushed her on her back and appeared over her. Orbs remained the same size as she gazed up at her husband. He leaned down and gave her a sweet kiss that didn't last very long. When he released the kiss he continued to just look at her face.

Suddenly she felt a rough yet gentle hand place itself on her cheek and she looked almost stunned at the man above her. His deep blue eyes searched her for a little bit before he gave her a kiss again.

"I love you." he murmured against her lips and she nearly broke.

Her hands came up to face and gently held him there. Emerald orbs searched his face, looking and wanting to believe what he had just said. She had only liked him in the beginning but now maybe, just maybe, if he could be this gentle, then she would learn to love him.

"I love you too." she whispered and for the first time since being married he actually made love to her. Instead of him being rough and fast he was gentle and slow and made her feel like she was the most important person in the world.

It had to have been late morning when Sakura woke up again. Instead of feeling roughly spent she felt blissfully spent. Daisuke had made her feel special and a good part of her heart cherished that. That one man would _want_ to make her feel that special.

When she had finally gotten up and had run into him in the hallways instead of wanting to look away she felt herself wanting to look at him and when he looked at her she could actually feel herself flush and he would smile. He had made her feel special and she loved that.

* * *

**Daimyo's Estate**

**Two Months Later**

* * *

It had been two months since he made her feel like a real woman and currently she was in the library with a scroll, ink and a pen to write back to Konoha. Though a part of her wanted to be in the midst of the battlefield. To feel the adrenaline rush through her and have the wind rip through her hair as she madly jumped from tree to tree and the feeling of accomplishment when she had saved a life.

But that was no longer. Her husband or the Daimyo wouldn't permit her to leave the estate. She was now an important person, even more of an important person than before. She was the key to keeping civil peace and now she had a husband that she believed loved her.

Without further delay she began to write on the scroll.

_Tsunade-shishou,_

_I hope all is well back in Konoha. I have missed it terribly and am always yearning for the time when I might be able to visit. Though I know that a visit to Konoha is going to be something that will have to wait for a long while. _

_We heard of another attack against a small village. Daisuke and his father were furious about it. Daisuke actually went to the village to try and help. I pleaded with him to take me with him as I might be of service being a medic nin but he refused. _

_It has been hard not fulfilling my duties as a kunoichi. Though I know he is a capable man and shinobi, apparently, I still feel the yearn to help all I can. _

_It has been interesting living in the estate. It is a place of beauty and wonder but sometimes it feels like a prison. I am only allowed outside the walls when I have at least two guards with me. With such security it makes me feel uncomfortable, but Daisuke says he can't take any risk that I might be harmed. _

_Apparently word has reached the rebels that we have married and he is now anxious about further attacks against him or myself. He fears for my safety. The security around the estate has been doubled in the past two weeks. The guard around myself has almost doubled and it seems that Daisuke is more concerned about the security of me than anything else. _

_He is a great man and I am honored to be married to him and though at first the relationship was nothing more than a base relationship, I believe it has turned into something greater than that. I believe he knows care for me for me and not as some woman that just shares his bed. _

She looked up from the scroll for a moment when a noise caught her attention. She craned her neck around to see if anyone was there. Nothing. She looked towards the windows to see if anyone was there. Nothing. A feeling of dread entered her stomach and she tried to push it away.

_Everything has become tense around here and I feel as though the only times I get to feel relief is in bed with my husband. He embraces me and holds on to me as though I might disappear. At first I thought this marriage would do nothing but kill me but I have come to find that it might have been a good thing, for me as well as for him. _

_He had only confided in me once. He knows that I may not have wanted to have gotten married to him but he says that if there was one thing that he could have done differently was if he could have actually courted me. He says that he loves me and that I deserved more than an arranged marriage. That is what helps me love him. Because he says he loves me and I appreciate it. _

_I have news of my own as well. I have not told Daisuke yet as I wish to surprise him, but I would like to tell you that I am with child. I believe I am only about 6-8 weeks along. I know it has only been a short time since we were married and now this, but I am looking forward to having this child. I wish for your blessing._

_I again hope all is well with Konoha and that plans to eradicate the rebels are going well. I will rest easier at night when I know that my husband and I don't have to worry about rebels trying to destroy our peace. _

_My love to all those in Konoha, _

_Furusawa Sakura_

She signed her name and looking over it she folded it, sealed it and wrapped a ribbon around it she got up out of the chair and began walking to the messenger birds area.

The room was stuffy with particles of straw everywhere and the noise of the birds. Going over to a cage she opened it and reached in to grab a white pigeon. It was her personal messenger pigeon. She tied the note to its leg and went over to the open window and with a thrust of her arms she sent the bird flying into the air and towards Konoha.

Orbs watched the bird take flight into the air and head towards Konoha. She leaned her body forward and let it rest against the windowsill her hips digging into the stone supporting her and her hands were splayed over the stone surface.

"Sakura?" a voice called and her head turned and she saw the man enter into the room.

"Daisuke." she answered and he came towards her while she turned around.

"What are you doing here?" He asked concerned.

"I was sending a letter to Konoha. I miss it there and writing there helps me." she smiled painfully and he could see the pain in her smile.

"When it is safe again we will visit Konoha." he reassured her by sliding his hands up and down her upper arms.

"You promise?" she knew the question was childish.

"I promise." he answered drawing her into his embrace and she wrapped her arms around his torso.

"Now, lets get back. Dinner is about to be served." he said leaning back slightly. She smiled and nodded and walked with him out of the room.

* * * * * * * *

They were in bed later that night. Sakura had her hands drawing light patterns over his chest. She felt his even yet still labored breath and she knew he wasn't asleep yet.

"Daisuke?"she asked into the darkness.

"Yes?" she leaned over him with her elbows supporting her body and her hair fell into his face.

"I have something to tell you." she whispered teasingly to him and his own orbs opened to meet her playful ones.

"And what is it?" he sounded tired.

"what if I told you I...I."

"If you were what?" he asked a little concerned now.

"If I were pregnant." she whispered the last word. It caught him by surprise. He stared at her and then blinked several times.

"Sakura, you're...you're having a child?" she nodded her head. "Are...are you sure?" nod again.

"I felt unusual a few days ago and checked with my chakra. I'm not very far along maybe a month. Are you happy though?" she asked uncertainly. She wasn't really expecting him to leap with joy but a more positive reaction than 'are you sure' would have been nice to her.

"Of course I'm happy he said and leaned forward to kiss her softly. Feeling his arms come around her back and she was pressed into him with a considerable amount of force. "Of course I'm happy. We're having a child." he kissed her head and smiling Sakura drifted into sleep. She had finally found something that was real and it was helping push out the other man that she thought controlled her.

* * *

**Unknown Location**

**Village Pub**

* * *

The four men were gathered together again. The same sake bottles sitting in front of them and tonight it seemed as though they were waiting for something or someone. It had been almost three months since the four had really been gathered together.

The door of the bar was whipped open and a cold blast of air whipped into and around the bar and the men in the area shivered. When the occupants finally looked at the man that had entered another shiver ran down their spines.

He was tall and dark. His cloak flapped around his legs and when he moved he moved with authority and a dark aura. Making his way to the back table where the four men sat he acquired his own seat and sat with the four men cloak hood covering his face.

"Nice of you to join us." the young one snickered and just a growl from the covered man made the younger shut up.

"I have news." the new man's voice spoke.

"And what is that?" boredom leaked.

"The daimyo's son has an heir or will have an heir. He got the kunoichi pregnant." four pairs of eyes slitted.

"And the other." the eldest man spoke.

"I will be talking with him shortly, but I'm sure he will do it. The pay will be good and he might get something out of it." The man spoke with a slight laugh at the end.

* * *

**Again I know it was a little slow but its working up. things are going to get more interesting next chapter and someone else shows up next chapter. know who?**

**Update: here's the deal. i have through chapter 5 complete. like finished, just need to be edited by muah. so here is what i am offering. i update wednesday and then every 2-3 days until i run out of chapters done and then we go to once a week. do you want that or do you want me to just update once a week so you get used to it? but you HAVE to tell me somehow. i don't have a poll for it. so if i don't hear anything about this then i will update next friday if i do hear something then i update on wednesday. SO LET ME KNOW!!**

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!**

**yoyo  
**


	3. Chapter 2: Figuring out a Trap

**Decided to update today. here's chapter 2 and things start to get interesting. **

**Thanks for all the reviews, alerts, and favs. they rock!!**

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy the Chapter!!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**Figuring out a Trap  
**

**

* * *

  
**

* * *

**Daimyo's Estate**

**One Month Later**

* * *

Caressing her slightly swelling stomach she laid in bed with her husband. He had a hand placed on her belly as well protecting the child while it was inside it's mother.

Trying to move quietly she turned so she now laid on her back and with her head turned she saw her husband's face. It was similar to that of her crushes face. The dark inky locks and the aristocratic features of his face. Narrow and slim and almost pointed. The only difference were his eyes. The deep ocean blue that was easy for her to get lost in instead of the dark onyx that made you want to sin.

Placing a hand on his cheek she caressed it lightly. She was falling in love with this man and the feelings she had for the Uchiha she had known were going into the back of her mind and she was forgetting all about him. The only thing she wanted was to never see him again, for if she did she might just want to rush back to his side.

A light yawn escaped her and moving closer to her husband's rock hard form she finally drifted into a sleep that was peaceful and restful.

Awaking in the morning she noticed her husband not putting on his usual ceremonial yukata but black shinobi pants and a mesh shirt. He had wraps around both wrists and ankles and one around his right muscled thigh.

"Daisuke?" she asked groggily, sitting up on her elbows. He turned to face her and she immediately saw his worried face and at once she began to become more alert.

"Daisuke, what is it?" she asked concerned now. He finished wrapping his ankle before replying.

"Another village was attacked not far from here. I am going there to check things out. I should be meeting up with Konoha shinobi." he came over to her and gave her a kiss goodbye. "Don't worry I will come back to you." he ran a hand through her mussed hair. He ran out of the room and she sat there in bed watching and hearing as he ordered a few other shinobi to accompany him and soon the creak of the main doors was heard and she knew he was gone.

That was the one thing that had surprised her the most. She thought it would mostly be non ninja guards here, and there were, but there were many that were skilled in the ways of the ninja, her husband being included.

They had the chakra and trained just like any other shinobi, but there was a difference between Konoha shinobi and the shinobi at the daimyo's estate. The ones in Konoha fought for the Fire Country and served the country villages and their allied nations. The shinobis at the estate fought only for the daimyo and were strictly trained, even stricter than Konoha shinobi.

They were disciplined and none were put into the service of the Daimyo unless they had passed rigorous training. She had witnessed the trainings session and shinobi that she thought would have passed were failed in their tests and put back into the regular training regiment.

Rising out of the bed she suddenly felt nauseous and went immediately to the bathroom to take care of her morning sickness.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Attacked Village**

* * *

His dark hair whipped around him. His only concern was to get to the village as soon as he could. He had heard that Konoha Shinobi were also on their way to the village as well but his squad would make it there faster.

He had only taken two other shinobi with him and they were making great speed. Within the hour they were at the borders of the village. The smoke that rose was unmistakable. There was the smell of charred wood and burning flesh in areas.

His nose wrinkled in disgust. These rebels were ruthless. The three walked quietly through the village streets. Giving a signal the three dispersed from each other and began to search the village for any survivors.

He went down the main street and often went to check out buildings that looked like someone might have survived in them. He pushed wood away with his foot and only heard the breaking of it and the sound of it turning to ash before his feet. He wanted these rebels dead.

"Daisuke-sama!" a voice called to him. Looking up towards the voice he took one last look at where he was before running to the voice.

"Inari, what is it?" he asked coming closer to the man. The man, Inari, turned to his leader. Daisuke stopped in his tracks when he saw the small child in the man's strong arms. It was a little girl. Her brown hair plastered to her face with her tears and soot was everywhere on her body. Her beady black eyes looked at them frightened.

He came over to the girl and gently ran a hand over her face while his subordinate held her. She slightly flinched upon his touch and started to try and wriggle free but Inari held her firm and Daisuke tried to shush her.

"It's okay, we're friends. We want to help you." he told the girl softly.

"Mommy, I want my mommy." the girl whimpered. Daisuke gave Inari a sorrowful look.

"What is your name, child." Daisuke asked.

"I want my mommy." she pleaded in her small voice.

"We don't know where your mommy is but what is your name."

"my name?"

"Hai, your name."

"Hana." she replied meekly.

"Hana, how old are you?" he asked.

"seven." the girl replied. "mister, I want my mommy."

"I know." Daisuke looked at the small girl. She was probably the only survivor. They only waited about another hour before the Konoha shinobi showed up. The two squads ran into the village and straight towards the three shinobi already there.

Leading one of the squads was a bright yellow haired man. His cerulean blue eyes looked at the three men already there and the apparent bundle that was being held by one of the men. Him and another man walked forward.

The other man looked alert but rather bored. His hair tied back but it stuck up and his mud colored eyes scanned the area. The other six were given the signal to look for clues that might give them an indication of who might have done it, what techniques were used and other things.

"Daisuke-sama." the chocolate haired male said bowing respectfully. The blond bowed as well.

"Don't do such formalities here. We are all shinobi and have the interest of out country at its highest."

"Of course. I am Nara Shikamaru and this is-"

"Uzumaki Naruto, Sakura speaks often of you." Daisuke said and bright blue eyes became even brighter.

"My men found this little girl. She is the only survivor. She may be able to help you determine who was apart of this raid."

"Of course." Shikamaru said. He looked at the little girl and smiled lazily.

"Hello, my name is Shikamaru."

"Hana." she replied quietly.

"Hana, can you tell me anything about the men that attacked the village?"

"There were lots of them."

"How many. Just guess."

"twenty, I guess." she shrugged her small shoulders.

"What did they look like. Did they have headbands like this?" He showed her his hitai-ate and she nodded.

"What did they look like."

"One had four lines on it and others rocks." she said her face contorted in concentration.

"That would mean Rock and Rain." Shikamaru said and then he faced the girl again. "Did they have a line through their headband?"

"Uh-huh. It was across here." she showed him on his own headband.

Shikamaru turned from the little girl but before he said anything he thought about it. It didn't make sense. Rain and Rock were enemies, so it would have to be the defective nin that were teaming up. There must have been a large coup d'etat going on including all the hidden villages.  
"Shikamaru what do you think of it?" Naruto asked.  
"The only thing I can think of is a large coup d'etat. It would explain why regular enemy shinobi would be combining. Rain and Rock are enemies so when they are fighting together it means that there is a plot that includes all nations defective shinobi that have decided to team up and reach one goal."  
"It sounds a lot like Akatsuki." Naruto mused.  
"Yeah it does. Though it is not Akatsuki, but they are wanting to achieve something. That's the clue that I am missing." he turned to Daisuke.  
"I request permission to take the child back to Konoha with us. She will be well looked after and we can hopefully try to get more information out of her so we can try and figure this out before it gets worse."  
"Of course. Inari, give the child to the men." Inari gave the small girl to a kunoichi in the group. Her blond hair was long and in a high ponytail.

"We found nothing of great importance. We can only guess it was fire jutsus that created the fires. There may have been a few earth and lightning jutsus as well." a paled eyed man said.

"Thanks Neji. We need to head back. Be careful Daisuke-sama." Shikamaru told the heir.

"Say hi to Sakura for us." the blond girl said.

"I will. She misses you terribly. I would like to invite you out to the estate once our child is born to visit."

"She's pregnant?" Naruto asked. Daisuke looked at them confused.

"Of course she is, almost three months. Haven't you gotten her letters. She writes at least once at week sometimes more."

"We haven't gotten any letters at all." Shikamaru looked trouble.

"Then where are they going?" Neji asked.

"I don't know but this isn't good. If the letters aren't getting delivered to Konoha that means that either the pigeon is being sabotaged in the middle of the trip or it goes to another destination. This probably means that the enemy is receiving information on her as well as you." Shikamaru nodded to Daisuke.

"Stop having her send letters. We can't let anymore information get out about her or you. The enemy now knows the estate. Push up your guard and be ready for anything. This is not looking good. We will report to the Hokage and if need be we will send a few shinobi to assist you at the estate and with Sakura." Shikamaru ordered lightly.

"Hai. If we need to correspond. I will start sending a runner."

"Okay. We will be in contact shortly." the three shinobi watched as the eight from Konoha took to the trees and headed back towards Konoha.

Daisuke turned towards the two men with him. His gaze was fierce and unyielding.  
"When we return I want all birds checked as well as the guards. The bird is probably a different bird then the one I got for her. Also I want all the men to be checked as well. Everyone is a suspect in this. I want to know if there is a spy among our ranks."  
"Hai." the two responded simultaneously. The three took the trees and headed back to the estate at a fast pace. This was not good.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

* * *

By dusk the two teams had gotten back to Konoha with the small girl in Ino's arms. Instead of the teams dispersing when they had gotten through the gates all eight of the shinobi headed straight towards the Hokage's office.

Without knocking Naruto opened the door and walked right in making the trying to become drunk hokage mad at the boy. She settled down when she saw that all eight of the people she had sent out were in the room along with a small girl. Raising an eyebrow she leaned back in her chair awaiting a full explanation.

The teams gave their reports to the Hokage together and individually, everyone filling in the missing areas of another's report. The reports went well and Tsunade was please with them as missing links were starting to get filled in, but then the other news came.

"Also, we were talking with Daisuke-sama and he said something that was rather disturbing." Shikamaru said with caution.

"And what was that? Is it Sakura?" There was worry in her voice when she said Sakura.

"Sort of. Apparently Sakura has been writing to us for weeks and there is no record of ever getting any of her messages. Also Daisuke-sama said she was pregnant as well. If the information she wrote to us about is in the hands of the rebels they now have the advantage over us."

Tsunade gripped the sake bottle tightly until little streams of cracks ran over the bottle's surface. The shinobi could see the anger growing in the Hokage and each stepped back slightly.

"How well is the Daimyo's Estate guarded?"

"There is said that the guard has doubled its normal size. There are also guards inside with the higher ranking occupants at all times." Shikamaru informed the Hokage.

"I see. We need to be extra cautious as well with our messenger birds. Though I don't believe that there is an enemy in Konoha there needs to be extra caution taken. You are dismissed." and she waved her hand to send them on their way.

"Tsunade-sama, what do you want to do about the girl?" Ino asked re-positioning the girl in her arms and Tsunade looked at the now orphaned girl.  
"Keep her with you. Bring her in here tomorrow early afternoon and we'll talk to her then. Shikamaru, be here as well. Now go."

"Hai." the room chorused and the eight filed out of the room and Shizune soon entered.

"Shizune, I want you to get an ANBU squad together. Stealth is of the essence and I want them to patrol the Daimyo's Estate and keep and eye on Sakura."

"Hai. I will get a squad together." the dark haired woman left the room leaving a very uptight Hokage by herself.

The woman turned her chair to face out the window and look over her city. This was turning out to be a mess. When the group had been in the room she had been tempted to tell them about the rumors that been going around the country about a certain Uchiha, but with the news of Sakura she knew it wouldn't be a good idea. Sake sounded really good at the moment.

* * *

**Rain Country**

* * *

Dust rose gradually off the dirt path as the sandals of the traveler picked it up. The cloak that the traveler wore swished the ground every so often and curled around his legs. The hood of the cloak was over the person's bowed head.

A small town appeared shortly and immediately the person's hidden eyes began to scan the town for enemies and for a place to rest. Landing on a decent looking inn the traveler made their way towards the opening and soon stepped inside, leaving his hood on.

The woman that was at the front looked up as the thudding footfalls of the person made themselves evident on the wooden floor. She looked curiously at the covered being and began her welcome speech.  
"One room." the voice dripped. The traveler was a male.

"How many nights will you be staying?" she asked, still trying to be cheerful.

"At least one." the man said.

"Of course, just let me now if your stay will be longer." she said before giving him a key. "Room 30. take the stairs up to the second floor and it is the last room on the left." the man's head nodded from beneath the hood and took a hold of the key and walked up the stairs.

The man walked down the long hallway of doors until he reached his own room. The door opened without a sound and he walked in closing the door fully and walked into the room. It was simple. A bathroom, one bed, and a window.

Scanning the room the cloak suddenly came off. Inky locks fell back into place as some spiked up slightly in the back. Onyx eyes again surveyed the room while his hand let the cloak drop onto the bed. His feet carried him to the window where he surveyed the back country. He silently cursed and wished he had been placed on the other side of the hallway where he could see the town.

His pack thumped onto the wooden floor and soon his sandals followed. The once hidden sword was placed leaning against the wooden walls near the bed. Going into the bathroom he turned the water onto hot and undressed himself before stepping into the shower.

The water drizzled over his body cleaning away the dust that held onto his skin, like a second layer. The water turned a light brown as it went towards the drain. His hands ran through the inky locks to try to untangle them and get them somewhat clean.

He tilted his head upwards and let the water beat down upon his face. Bringing his hands up he drew them over his face and slid them down to semi-wash his face.

Turning the water off and tying the towel around his narrow waist he went out into the room to retrieve his other pair of black pants and a black haori. He shook his head to get the water droplets off of his hair.

The message that he had gotten had said to meet the man at the local pub at midnight. Lips turned upward in a smirk. If it was at midnight then he had a job to do.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

* * *

The three found themselves back at the estate quickly. He notified his father of the survivor and that Konoha was finally piecing things together, which made his father happy. He didn't however tell his father about the missing letters. If he had then he knew his father would have been sent into a rage.

Walking down the wooden hallways he walked towards the bird area. He saw two guards by the doorway. Looking at both guards he immediately began to question them. Who had been in the room, besides them, and if anyone that had entered had not been from the estate.

He had already sent Inari and Ryou to check out the other guards on the estate. After questioning the guards he himself walked into the room and went straight to the cage for the bird he had gotten Sakura. The bird that he had given her he had raised himself. It was an offspring of his own messenger bird.

Looking at the bird from away or just a glance it would appear to be the same bird but when looking closely he realized that the bird was different. The bird he had given Sakura was white except for a light brown spot halfway under the wing on the right side. The bird that was the cage looked exactly the same except that the light brown spot was under the left wing.

Taking the bird out of the cage with one hand, his other hand reached into the weapons pouch still fastened to his thigh and slowly he took out a sharpened kunai. Raising the blade he placed it against the bird's white feathers and with a single flick of the wrist blood soon coated the white feathers and his hand.

* * *

**How was that? things are starting to pick up a little. yeah!. **

**Next Chapter: the mission is revealed for Sasuke, and the rebels are planning something and it goes into action and Shikamaru pieces part of the rebels plans together.  
**

**Update: Friday. **

**Please Review. They motivate me!!**

**yoyo  
**


	4. Chapter 3: The Price to Pay

**So i decided to post today out of the kindness of my heart. to be honest i am getting a little discouraged, as there hasn't been a lot of feedback yet but i will continue the story. i have too many chapters already written to just drop it. but i am starting to work on another fiction not posted but i am starting to type it. so my attentions are going elsewhere as well. **

**Thanks for those of you who did review. i love reviews. also thanks for the alerts and favs.  
**

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy the chapter! lots of Sasuke  
**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**The Price to Pay**

* * *

**Fire Country  
**

**Daimyo's Estate**

* * *

Letting the bird drop out of his hand and onto the floor he watched as the bird slightly writhed before becoming still indicating its death. His blue eyes looked at the now dead bird and his anger grew. Someone had either infiltrated the estate or was in the estate.

Moving out of the room he walked away from the two confused guards and made his way back inside the estate. Footsteps echoed through the hallway as he moved around. He looked for Sakura for a while before finding her out in the garden area.

Walking up to her, he laid his hands on her shoulders as she overlooked the koi pond in one of the gazebos around the garden. Startled upon feeling his hands on her her head turned to the side to see who was behind her. She relaxed when she saw it was Daisuke.

"How was it?" she tried asking lightly.

"Fine. There was only one survivor, a small girl." he told her as he moved closer to rest his chin upon her shoulder, with his arms encircling her waist, hands resting on her slight bulge.

"Where is the girl?" she quietly asked.

"Konoha shinobi asked to take her with them and I let them." he told her quietly as well. He knew he had to tell her about the undelivered letters and how she needed to stop writing. But he knew that writing them made her still feel connected to her previous home.

"Sakura," he started as gently as he could and she lifted her head back a little, as if telling him that he could proceed. "I wanted to tell you that you can't write to Konoha for a time." it was better than saying she could never write to them again. Her head fell downward a little and this time she turned to face him.

"Why can't I write to Konoha?" she asked anger apparent in her voice. His hands came up and started to rub her upper arms to try and relax her and figure out what he was going to say and he decided on the truth. There was no reason to lie to her.

"Sakura, your letters haven't been going to Konoha for the past several weeks." he was cut off.

"What do you mean, haven't been going to Konoha?"

"The messenger bird I gave you a while back, I just went and looked at it and it wasn't the same bird. Your letters have not been received in Konoha. Your friend Uzumaki Naruto was part of the squads and when I told him to visit us after the child is born he didn't even know you were with child. We believe the rebels have gotten your letters and now know information on you and the estate." her mouth frowned and her face grew almost distraught.

"I see." she started slowly. "What are we going to do then?"

"Security around the estate will go up and I have two of my men looking into all of the people who live and work here on the estate to try and figure out if there might be any spies in the estate." he gently kissed her before continuing.

"Don't worry though. Everything will be alright." and he drew her into a hug which she returned.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Village pub**

* * *

For being close to midnight he was slightly surprised there were still quite a few people in the pub. He sat in a back corner and slowly drank his sake from the bottle before him. He gently twirled the bottle out of boredom and watched the events going on only really thinking about what he was doing.

After killing his brother and finding out the truth about Konoha he went into a rage and going off with the last other Uchiha, Uchiha Madara, who was secretly leading Akatsuki. Though he knew of the Akatsuki's goals he didn't go along with them.

He played the part of being made to be puppet in the hands of Madara but after two years he helped destroy the Akatsuki along with the other Hidden Villages and many had thought he would return to Konoha but he did not, not while the Elders lived.

He had soon after disbanded his team. Karin had tried to plead with him to take her along with him but after getting a close glimpse of death by him she had scuttled off. Suigetsu and Juugo had not complained and took their own paths, where they went he did not know and he didn't really care.

It was only about a year later that villages had started being attacked. He was mostly a traveler at the time but did hire himself out for missions if the price was right and the price for this mission was right.

He had heard that the Rebels were trying to get a hold of him to carry out some mission and when he finally got a message he responded by coming here. The mission, he knew not of, but the price was well worth it.

Taking another drink he was getting annoyed. He knew it had to be around midnight and yet the man still wasn't here. He didn't like being kept waiting.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The dark room was only lit by a small candle and even the candle didn't give off enough light to let the two men see each other's faces. The candle dimmed so the room was almost completely dark before coming back to life slightly.

The thud of a bag was heard as it dropped onto the table. A pair of eyes wandered to the bag before quickly snatching it up.

"You know what is in there right?" A deep voice asked.

"Hai, I do."

"Remember to tell him to give it during midday so when it starts to take affect no one is around. We will plan accordingly so the son isn't around as well."

"Hai. I do however would like to let you know they are becoming more suspicious. The heir found out about the bird and the letters have now been stopped."

"Not a serious setback. We have the information we need. Now go." the deep voice ordered and the scraping of a chair was heard and the shutting of a door came next. "Now time for the other part of the plan." the man too raised himself out of his own chair and walked towards the door and opened it before walking through a short hallway and out into the night light of the pub. Looking around he saw the other person he had been waiting for had already arrived.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Walking over to where the young man sat he took his seat in front of the other man facing him. The younger man gave him a look before taking another swig of sake.

"You're late." was the first thing the young man said.

"My apologies. I had other business to attend to first."

"What do you want then?"

"I have a mission for you. I am part of a group that has been having some difficulties with our leader. He has been imposing unbearable things upon us and we have had enough. Though we are just mere villagers we heard that someone of your caliber would be able to release us from his tightening hold."

"And who is it I am supposed to get rid of?"

"The Daimyo's son of the Fire Country." Sasuke arched an eyebrow.

"You know I come from the Fire Country. Why would I kill my own next Daimyo?"

"Because you hold no allegiance to the Fire Country and also because you would feel obligated to help fellow countrymen."

"You say he has been oppressing you, yet I have heard no such thing. Are you lying to me?" his voice became poisonous.

"No, of course not. Only in certain villages has he been oppressive and it has gotten to the point where it is unbearable."

"You want me to go into a heavily guarded estate and kill the Daimyo's son. Why not the Daimyo himself?"

"The Daimyo is old and will soon be giving the title to his son."

"What about his wife? I heard he wed recently."

"She will go back to her own village free from harm."

"How can I trust you?"

"I have already named a high price and you will be greatly praised in our villages."

"I don't want praise, but I will do it."

"You will take the mission?"

"What did I just say?"

"Arigatou then. Here is your money then." two bags clinking with coins slid across the table. The Uchiha picked the bags up and stowed them away before getting up to leave but before he did and just as he was passing the other man he stopped and bent down towards his ear.

"I know who you are. And I know your plans. That is why I am doing this, because I want to see Konoha fall as well." straightening up he left the man in shock and left the pub with the door causing a resounding thud on closing.

His bags were already packed and before dawn rose he had left the village and was heading towards the Fire Country's Daimyo's Estate. He was somewhere in Rain and knew that he wouldn't reach the Estate for at least three days if he traveled quickly, but what was the rush? He didn't have a rush to kill the Daimyo's son.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

* * *

The two couldn't sleep. His mind was trying to make sense of everything and trying to create a strategy to protect her from any outside force. He knew now that things would start getting more serious. The Rebels were starting to really move their plan into action and he wondered if they were ready to deal with it all.

She couldn't sleep. Her letters hadn't gotten to Konoha and she was feeling guilty. Because of her the Rebels now had inside information about her, Daisuke, her unborn child, and the estate. She chided herself inwardly for being so stupid. They were in a struggle right now and she was giving away precious information.

After chiding herself she felt her husband's arms wrap around her pulling her closer to him. She instantly relaxed her body against his.

She had overcome her crush on the Uchiha she once had associations with, but now she was giving her heart to another and he was willingly taking it. She rested one of her hands upon his as he let a hand rest against her growing belly and she knew that this child would be loved greatly because its parents were in love.

The morning seemed to come all to soon. They had only gotten to sleep sometime in the mid morning. It came as a surprise to Sakura when she did not feel her husband getting himself out of bed but continued to lie in bed with her.

He was usually always up within a matter of minutes taking a shower, dressing himself and leaving her to care for herself. She had detested the servant that had been 'assigned' to her and with much arguing with her husband, he had gotten rid of the servant and she now took care of herself for the most part.

It was a half hour later that she actually had to get up. The toilet called to her and she had to get up for once leaving her husband in the bed. After getting rid of part of the contents in her stomach she felt a hand gently start to rub her back.

Turning her head slightly she saw her husband bending to be beside her. He was usually never around when she went through her bouts but today he was here and he was helping her. It made her give off a small smile through her sickness

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Small Village**

**Village Pub**

* * *

A bag landed on the table.

"Use this."

"What is it?"

"Something to make sure that it's gotten rid of. Midday. Two days. Got it?"

"Got it."

"If anything goes wrong it's on your own head. He will not be too kind to you either so make sure it's in there."

"It will be alright. I will do and I haven't failed yet." the other man huffed.

"The bird was a failure. So just make sure this one isn't. Besides this one isn't that hard. At least we got three months worth of information from them. Now go. Remember, two days, midday. We will have the distraction done by then."

"Okay." the man picked up the bag and safely stowed it in his shirt before leaving the bar.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Border**

* * *

It would still take four days to get there. His steady pace was quite nice. He was in no hurry and if the other business he assumed the man had before him was correct, the man would like this steady pace. He could read their movements before they even happened and their goal was painfully obvious.

It was hard to believe that Konoha had not yet figured out the real goal of the Rebels. It was similar to the goal of Akatsuki, yet different. Instead of getting tailed beasts and unleashing their powers upon the ninja world, they were doing it the old fashioned way.

Attack the small villages, let the shinobi world they were there and then after time go for the bigger villages and start taking out the leaders of each country. He also assumed there were more like him. The Rebels would hire S-Class Missing nin to take care of the problem leaders and apparently the Daimyo's son was causing some trouble.

Another thing picked at his curiosity with the Daimyo's son, who he had heard was named Daisuke, was that he was a shinobi and well trained. Also the wife picked at him as well. Who was she? He knew that it was a kunoichi from Konoha but from that point it remained anonymous.

He had gone through all the kunoichi he believed that could ever be picked and none of them really made sense. It would a great thing when he would be able to hurt Konoha even more. He also assumed that this assassination was also a stage act.

They wanted the Daimyo to believe that the wife killed the husband in his sleep, and the kunoichi would inevitably be executed. This would create a civil outbreak between the Daimyo and Konoha and would open the borders for more attacks. The Fire Country was the largest country out of all the countries and most likely the most powerful as well.

The only thing that irked him was the business that had to be taken care of before he even got there. He could sense that the man had another plan before the son's death. What was it? They couldn't kill the wife because then it would foil all of their other plans because if she did die the Daimyo could easily say it was Rebels that got into the estate.

But what if the business didn't even have to do with the Daimyo? But how could it not? Right now he knew they were focusing on the Daimyo and his son and the son's wife. There had to be something that he didn't know about that was going on.

Usually he wouldn't mind not knowing but the fact that deep inside of him he knew he still had some bonds left and that was what irked him. He had released all of his bonds except one and the only thing that came to mind when that bond was thought of was pink and green.

He growled lowly and pushed the thoughts out of his mind. Those bonds _had_ to be severed and he would do it any cost to himself or to the person that he somehow was still bonded too.

* * *

**Daimyo's Estate**

**Two Days Later**

* * *

She sighed as she sat down trying to accommodate her ever growing stomach. Though it had not swollen larger it was becoming uncomfortable and it was only two and a half months. She didn't even want to think about nine months.

The other thing that was disturbing her was another attack on a small village. It was farther away than the last one Daisuke had gone to but it was close enough he felt he needed to go.

She had once again woken up to him putting on his shinobi ensemble. Giving her a quick kiss and leaving the room was all she had seen of him that morning. It was now midday and he was still not back. He had got back around mid early afternoon last time but since it was farther out he would be back later.

The woman placed the tray of food before her. Her tastes had gotten pickier lately due to the pregnancy and now all she wanted at lunch was a tray of a various assortment of fruits and vegetables and water. It was all she wanted or rather craved.

The cup was placed before a few moments later and she quietly began eating. She was alone at the table as usual. The Daimyo was at a council meeting with the other Daimyos in another country and she had learned that Daisuke's mother was killed several years earlier due to a disease that had swept through the land.

The room remained quiet except for her nibbling on the food and an occasional sip of water. It was only after ten minutes that she began to not feel well again. She assumed it was her stomach reacting again and quietly slipped out of the chair and went back to her room.

She lied down and rested. Only an hour later she woke again having pains in her lower stomach. She felt like retching and soon found herself in the bathroom leaning over the toilet retching yet the pain was still there and only when she looked down and saw the first few droplets of blood did she realize what was happening.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Attacked Village**

* * *

Feeling the urge to run a hand over his face he did. It was the third small village in a month that had been attacked. This time the Rebels were a little more careless and left more than one survivor. This time a man, three women, and several children were alive.

Konoha was there as well. Medical shinobi had come with them and were healing the few injured civilians. A group of them were standing together and talking amongst themselves trying to figure out what was really going on.

It was only a few hours before dusk that the two groups departed ways. The civilians would be going back to Konoha and Daisuke with his four other shinobi would be going back to the estate. But before going Naruto came over to Daisuke.

"How is Sakura?" he asked concerned for his friend.

"She is doing well. She has been getting sick in the mornings and is getting a little uncomfortable with the baby growing but she is doing fine."

"Arigatou. Take care of her, please." Naruto's eyes pleading with the man.

"I will."

"Naruto!" Neji called to blond. "We need to go." Naruto told him he was coming and looked back at Daisuke and held out his hand.

"Arigatou again." Daisuke gave a small smile and shook the already outstretched hand.

Five shinobi soon took to the trees and headed back to the estate while the Konoha Shinobi watched their comrades leave them before helping the civilians get ready to leave.

* * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A while later before the group set off Neji took Shikamaru to the side.

"This attack seems different." Neji told Shikamaru to the side.

"I know. They never keep civilians alive and if they do it's by mistake, but where we found them at it should have been easy to find them. This attack was planned a little differently than the rest." Shikamaru looked around the now ruined village.

He was trying to match everything up. He knew every time a village was close to the Daimyo's Estate Daisuke would come and help them with the attack and its aftermath. He knew that the Rebels had inside information on the Estate and what was going on inside.

Daisuke had told them earlier that the bird that had been delivering the messages was not Sakura's bird. This had only gotten Shikamaru even more curious. Because of this information it only meant one thing. Someone was working inside the estate or knew how to get in to the estate.

Then something suddenly struck Shikamaru. Everything so far had to do with Sakura or Daisuke. To gathering information to getting Daisuke away from the estate. Only half a year ago was the Fire Country on the brink of Civil War and that had been what the Rebels wanted.

"Kuso." he breathed and he knew he had it. Something was happening to Sakura.

"What?" Neji asked and chocolate eyes met pale eyes.

"It makes sense now." breathed Shikamaru.

"What does?"

"The attack today. Everything we have been told in the last few months concerning the Fire Country had had to do with either Sakura or Daisuke. The rebels know information about them and the Estate."

"What does it have to do with the attack?" Neji was trying to piece it together.

"The Civil War was what the Rebels wanted. They planned everything out so that it would happen. Now they are planning something else with Sakura and Daisuke. Get them in a vulnerable position and then we will see a Civil War between the Daimyo and Konoha."

"That means they are planning something would inevitably cause the Daimyo to come after us."

"Hai, but what it is I don't know."

"We should send someone to talk to Daisuke and Sakura then."

"Hai. But who? We can't send Naruto, he will become to emotional."

"I'll go." Neji offered. " I know what is going on and Daisuke knows I don't mess around."

"Alright. They already have almost a two hour lead on you. You better get going." Neji nodded and took off towards the tree line before disappearing. The rest of the shinobi looked at Shikamaru questioningly but didn't say anything.

* * *

**Daimyo's Estate**

**Early Dusk**

* * *

Daisuke arrived at the gates and was about to go directly towards his and Sakura's room when he stopped by one of the medical personnel that was at the Estate.

"Daisuke-sama." she began "I have bad news for you." Daisuke immediately stopped and looked at the woman who was talking to him.

"What? What's wrong?"

"It is Sakura-sama. She miscarried." the woman told him bluntly and hit just like a good punch to the stomach. His child, their child, .....was gone?

"What do you mean? How did it happen? She was _fine _when I left." Daisuke wanted answers. He was furious. Everything had been going well with her pregnancy. The medic they had that had been helping with her said that the chances of her miscarrying were slim. She was _fine._

"I don't exactly know. I heard from a servant that after lunch she had not been feeling well so I went and checked on her and when I found her she was in the bathroom sick and bleeding. From what I can tell from how she miscarried, I can only assume that someone put in a herb or something into her meal to cause a miscarriage. I checked on the food she ate but whatever may have been used is tasteless and apparently sightless. If it was in her drink it is gone by now."

His anger boiled. Someone had wanted her to miscarry and she did. His rage was becoming unmaintainable as he began shaking. Someone was inside this estate sabotaging her and him. There was someone inside this estate that was working with or for the Rebels.

At first he wanted to go to the kitchens and dismiss everyone but he knew that would be irrational. If he wanted to find the person, then they needed to stay around a bit longer. So instead he went towards where he knew Sakura was at.

Opening the door to the room he spotted her figure on the bed. She was on her side facing the middle of the bed clutching her stomach and the bedsheets. Her face was pale and distorted with pain. Sitting on the bed and adding his weight an emerald opened and looked at him before closing and another pain wracked her body.

He rubbed her back soothingly trying to calm her and him and relax her muscles.

"I'm sorry." came a meek and weak murmur and he moved closer to her.

"Don't be. It's not your fault." he whispered kissing her cheek. It was true it wasn't her fault she had lost the baby. "We can always try again." he caressed her cheek with his hand. Her weakly nodded her head before falling asleep.

He looked at her sleeping form for a moment before getting off the bed and making sure she was comfortable left the room and walked down the hall having a menacing aura trail behind him.

Someone would pay. Someone would pay for destroying innocent villages. Someone would pay for disturbing the peace of all the nations. Someone would pay for taking his child from him and his wife. Someone would _pay_.

* * *

**Hope it was good. things are starting to pick up from here.**

**_Next Chapter: Sasuke's mission_  
**

Update: when i feel like it. saturday or sunday most likely.

**I am actually going to BEG for reviews. please review. i thrive off of reviews and the lack thereof has been kind of disappointing. so please please please please review!!! Please!!**

**yoyo**


	5. Chapter4: What Eyes Behold

**Hello, hello! I'm back with chapter 4 of the story and this chapter many have been waiting for. Sasuke and Sakura meet finally.  
**

**Thank you SO much for the reviews. they really made me happy and feel good about the story again. You guys and gals are the greatest! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own naruto, only the plot of this story but the anime and manga are getting really good and sasuke is back. yes and he is looking good in the anime. **

**Enjoy the chapter  
**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**What Eyes Behold**

**

* * *

  
**

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate  
**

* * *

Neji already felt that something was wrong even before he got to the Daimyo's Esate and when he did arrive there was a sense of forlorn. He walked swiftly and stride fully through the outer courtyards of the estate towards the inner workings of the estate.

When he reached the main house he wasn't granted entrance saying their was mourning going on and it left him confused. Daisuke had only left them hours ago and mentioned nothing of mourning. Neji told the guards it was of the utmost importance that he speak with Daisuke and with his statements of urgency they finally sent a runner to inform Daisuke of his arrival and within five minutes he was let in being told where Daisuke was.

Walking through the estate he found that most servants were wearing black and the aura of the estate seemed downcast. He found Daisuke in the study he had been directed too. The man had not changed out his shinobi attire and was sitting at the wooden desk elbow on the table resting his head looking out towards the koi ponds.

"Daisuke-sama?" Neji started.

"Ah, Neji-san. I was told you were here." Daisuke said almost boredly. "What do you need?" the man didn't move.

"I have new information for you. Shikamaru believes that someone may be targeting you or Sakura-"A bark of laughter cut him off.

"May? Just a may be? Well since you're here you might as well know the truth. There is someone targeting us. And they already struck." The man turned his head towards Neji, his head still resting in the palm of his hand. "Thanks to nobody figuring it out sooner I just lost my child." Daisuke said coldly and Neji's eyes narrowed.

"Sakura lost the child?"

"Hai, she did. The medic thinks someone put a herb or medicine in her food or drink and it caused her to miscarry. So your calculations are correct just a little too late." Daisuke looked back out towards the koi ponds.

"She is not safe here then. Let me take her back to Konoha." Neji resolved.

"No. She stays. She no longer belongs in Konoha. I have capable men here."

"Apparently if you just lost your child." Neji spoke almost sarcastically and as soon as he did he was pushed against a wall with Daisuke pushing him into the wall.

"Do not mock me." he seethed. "Because Konoha was unable to figure this out earlier I lost my child. Now get out and tell Konoha they better start working harder to stop these Rebels." Daisuke forcefully released Neji's collar.

Daisuke stalked over to the door that led out to the ponds before stopping. Neji watched the man have an inner battle with himself. Bowing gracefully to the man Neji exited the room. Once outside the room he asked where Sakura was and was given directions, after some persuasion.

Opening the door he found a pale and sickly looking Sakura lying on the bed. He walked over to her and looked down at her exhausted form. Her breathing was shallow. He gently laid a palm on her cheek causing her eyes to flutter.

"Daisuke?" she asked.

"No Sakura, it's Neji."

"Neji." it sounded so pained. "What are you doing here?"

"I seem to have been a little late to protect you. We discovered their true intentions, but it seems it was a little to late to protect you from them." she sighed heavily in return to what he said.

"At least I am still alive." she got out. "Daisuke said we can try again in a little while." she closed her eyes breathing getting a little ragged and Neji noticed it.

"Sleep Sakura. Just get better." she gave a nod that was barely visible. He watched her for a few more minutes. He needed to get back to Konoha to tell them the news, but he knew that it wouldn't be the last of the bad news to come. These Rebels were smart and they didn't plan, they plotted.

He left the estate in a hurry nearly running at times. He had to get back to Konoha as fast as he could. Things were starting to get out of hand and quick. These Rebels were starting to make their move and if Konoha didn't hurry, well he didn't want to think about it.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Dawn**

* * *

He had run all night to get back to Konoha. It was already late when he had reached the Daimyo's Estate and with the news he had he needed to get back as fast and as soon as he could. He ran through the gates and towards the Hokage's tower.

Rushing up the stairs he ran into the building and reaching the Hokage's office door he pounded on it getting a yell in return. Opening the door he found the hokage nursing a hangover of too much sake.

"Hokage-sama, I have news from the Daimyo's son." this got her attention.

"News? What news?" she could tell this would be bad news.

"Yesterday Shikamaru deducted-"

"I know about that, now what about the news?"

"It is Sakura. She was with child, but the rebels got to her and placed a herb or medicine to make her miscarry. She lost the heir." Amber eyes narrowed.

"WHAT?!" she bellowed at the Hyuga. "She lost the heir?"

"Hai. It was during the time when Daisuke was away from the estate with us at the recently attacked village. It was perfectly planned." Neji reported.

"This is not good. The Daimyo is going to be pissed at us. This news can not be let out. It must be kept quiet. If anyone were to find out Sakura would be in an even more vulnerable position." she paused for a moment.

"Were you able to see her?" She asked cautiously.

"Hai, I was. She did not look well. It seemed to have taken a great toll on her body."

"Of course it would. It was an artificially induced miscarriage. They are always the worst. I will send a Konoha medic out to assist. Shizune!" she yelled and the black haired woman came scrambling in.

"Hai Tsunade-sama."

"Get a higher level medic and send him or her to the Daimyo's Estate. Sakura needs some assistance."

"Hai. I will get one." and the woman left.

"This is turning black and very quickly." Tsunade steepled her fingers in front of her and went into deep thought.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Traveling Road**

* * *

The sun beat down upon him. He had still another day before he reached the Daimyo's estate. It was almost nostalgic. As a young genin he had traveled these roads many times going on missions with _Team 7_. But that was in the past.

He had also been along these roads as a grown man going on hired missions such as this one. The dust was almost non-existent and the trees gave coverage at times throughout the journey. He knew that within ten miles there would be a small tea house, but he wouldn't stop because he needed to do his _mission_ tomorrow night.

The feeling that something had happened already at the Daimyo's Estate sat uneasily with him. He wasn't sure what might have happened but he knew that the rebels plotted and planned ahead. They wouldn't just send him on a mission without there being a diversion first. It would make the entire mission harder if there wasn't and from what he gathered on the rebels they liked it easy and their way.

As he predicted with the next ten miles he passed a small tea house. He knew he was now within ten hours of the Estate if he kept this pace and he would. It was nearing midnight as the moon was nearly directly overhead.

Tomorrow he would scout out the estate. Figure out every possible place to enter and exit. He had seen some plans to the estate and knew that the Daimyo's son would be in the center courtyard where the main house was located at the estate.

The outer courtyards were around the outer buildings which consisted of the dining areas, meeting rooms and ceremonial rooms. The inner was the most protected therefore that was where the family stayed, making it harder for intruders to actually get into them.

He had also seen that the number of windows was limited so he would have to go through the doors to enter into the inner courtyard and then into the main house and then son's room. If the plans were correct the son's room would be near the northeast corner of the inner courtyard of the main house

He had been to Daimyo's Estate when he was younger with his father. That gave him the advantage in the situation as well. The inner courtyard was around the main house which was made up of the rooms by the rank of the noble and the direction as well. The Daimyo would be at the northern most room of the main house in the inner courtyard.

At dining ceremonies the next highest would take the seat to the right and in the main house it would be north east or east. This case being the northeast. The rooms followed that pattern with hallways between the room to ensure privacy. He had occupied a western room of the main house in the inner courtyard showing that he was a guest of high honor.

Smirking he continued to layout the estate in his mind. He figured the Rebels had found out that he knew the Estate and called him to take the mission for if it were anyone else they might not make it out alive.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

* * *

Nestling up against her husband she knew that he must be disappointed in the miscarriage that she had had causing the loss of their child. Though he had said they would try again the trying would not be for a while.

She knew about miscarriages that were induced. Because the miscarriage was induced it took a harder toll on the mother. The mother's body takes care of the child. If it was a regular miscarriage it still would have been painful but her body would have been getting ready for it, whereas here her body was not ready for it.

Medics had been checking on her all day. They had stopped checking in when Daisuke had come to bed with her, saying that he would watch over her, but right now she was looking over him. She could plainly see the lines that were being etched into his face because of the stress.

The bags under his eyes were growing with the loss of sleep over the rebels and now her. She knew right now that even though he was asleep thoughts of her and the country plagued his mind. Giving him a small kiss she lifted herself a little higher on the bed and brought his head to where it settled in the crook of her neck.

Running her hands through his hair she began to doze and after a while she was asleep her head on top of his, her breathing slow and relaxed, body becoming warm in the heat the two shared.

**Next morning**

She was rather rudely awakened by another medic checking up on her. Checking her vitals and body. She squirmed at times as she didn't know these medics and part of her didn't trust them. The Estate of course did not have a hospital so she was now put on bed-rest.

The only thing she was glad for was no morning sickness and the small bump that she did have was starting to wane. But with the things she was glad for brought the pain back of losing that child that made her get sick and have that bump.

She slept for most of the day while Daisuke was out and about talking to his father and trying to correspond with Konoha in other ways other than birds. Since the bird incident with her bird all the birds hadn't been used.

Now all messages were sent by runners in a group of two or three and they were usually shinobi from withing the estate. After getting fed up with the nurses she needed to get out of the bed and take a shower, which she did.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Ouside Daimyo's Estate**

**Forest**

* * *

Eyes scanned over the familiar building. It was exactly the same, maybe minor modifications and the structure had looked as it had been updated again, but inside it looked to be the same.

It had become slightly tricky to stay where he was as he could sense the ANBU moving around the estate. He had to conceal his chakra and at the same time continue to scan the area. Feeling an ANBU close to his position he leapt down from the tree branch and hid in a small hole of the tree that had been rotted away.

Feeling the presence move he went back to his perch to continue to watch the activities. It was nearing midday and soon two shinobi left the estate and began to head in the direction of Konoha. His eyes followed them until they disappeared.

His interest only perked up when a Konoha medic nin came into view from the road and rapidly made their way towards the estate. Reaching the estate they were let in immediately. Now his curiosity was peaked. What had happened inside the estate that would require a medic nin from Konoha?

This was getting quite interesting with the Rebels. Their plans seemed to be intricately woven. They thought of everything. He could assume that they had done something to harm someone close to the Daimyo so it would be easy for him to infiltrate and kill.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

* * *

The Konoha medic nin was welcome and was escorted to where Sakura was resting in her quarters. Upon entering Sakura's eyes opened and with a slow realization she recognized the medic nin. The woman medic walked over to resting woman and gently sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Ino." Sakura whispered out her friend's name. The blond woman looked down at her weak friend.  
"Hey Sakura." she spoke to her. "Tsunade-sama sent me to help you." Sakura nodded her head, pink hair bunching against the pillow.

The two friends talked only a little bit longer before Ino began to check up on her friend's health. She had been surprised when Shizune had come into the hospital looking for her. When she found out it was to go and help Sakura she couldn't turn down the mission.

She knew her skills were below Sakuras, but overall she had admirable skills. When the details of her mission were told to her by Tsunade she agreed again to go without question and had set off immediately to help her friend overcome what had happened. When Tsunade found out she would be going she couldn't have been more pleased with Shizune's selection.

That was how she found herself now checking her friend's health after a tragic loss by inducement. Her friend was asleep now as she continued with her examination of her friend. Though Sakura had told her that her and Daisuke would try again it would all depend if Sakura could now, if the induced miscarriage didn't affect her reproductive system.

The sound of the door opening took away her concentration for a moment but she soon resumed her work. Feeling a presence behind her she turned her head slightly to see who was behind her. She saw the man's form and knew it had to be Daisuke.

"She will be fine in about a week." Ino informed the man.

"Will she...be able to conceive again?" he asked it with pain in his voice.

"Hai, nothing seems to be too badly damaged. Just take it easy for a while. It would be safe to wait for at least a two to three weeks for everything to recover completely." she said turning to look at the man. "Though it might be harder for her to conceive the next time around."

He was different from when she last saw him. His eyes seemed more tired and dull. His features though still young held worn in the them. Lines had begun to become etched into his face and the skin beneath his eyes was slightly baggy.

This wasn't the man she had seen a only weeks ago. The aliveness and alertness that his eyes held. They way they brightened when he told them Sakura was with child. The lines weren't there though things were stressful. It was a total reversal of him.

"You have had a room prepared for you. There's someone outside that will take you there. Dinner will be in an hour."

She nodded and got off the bed her spot being taken by Daisuke. She could see just how much Sakura meant to him. Before leaving the room she turned to see Sakura awakening and one of Daisuke's hands was holding one of hers while the other cradled her pale cheek thumb running over the pale skin.

Slipping out the door she was led to her room by a female. It was a fair distance away from Sakura's room but still close enough that if she needed to get there quickly she could. The door was opened for her and she stepped in.

The bag she had brought with her was laying on the bed waiting for her. It had two sets of clothes and other necessities as Tsunade had told her that she might be at the estate for a while. The Hokage was concerned for her apprentice and wanted to make sure that she was well taken care of until she was back on her feet.

Dinner was promptly in a hour. There were many vacant seats at the table. The Daimyo and Daisuke were at the table along with some of the other medics as well as herself. The seat next to Daisuke was vacant and she could only think that was where Sakura sat when she was at the dining table.

After dinner she made another visit to her ailing friend. She noted that Sakura looked slightly better and had a little more energy. Her current milk white skin was fading back into the peach and ivory color it usually held.

"Sakura, how are you feeling?" she asked sitting next to her friend on the bed.

"Better." she got out. "I feel like I have a little more energy than I have had."

"The drug is probably starting to either dissolve in your system or you have been getting rid of it by your sweating." the pink-haired woman nodded at what the blond said. "I'll come and check up on you in the morning." She said looking at her friend before leaving the room for the final time that night.

Daisuke came into the room around ten that night. He quickly removed his shirt and pants before crawling into the bed with Sakura who was already sound asleep. He had been checking the guard again, making sure no one could enter into the estate.

He took Sakura into his arms and she responded by letting her hands come to rest on his chest. He deeply inhaled her scent before letting out a sigh and finally falling asleep.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Outside Daimyo's Estate**

**Forest**

* * *

The moon showed that it was nearing one o'clock in the morning. His red eyes were piercing the darkness around him. Blinking the red was gone and the onyx was back and blended into the night. It was time to strike.

Moving stealthily he cross the open plain between the forest and the estate's outer walls in nothing but a flash. He positioned himself against the wall and checked both directions making sure no one had seen him.

He had taken off his cloak and wore only black as he crept along the outside wall towards the northern wall. He only stopped a few times to make sure that no one was following him or had detected him. Reaching a hand towards the pouch on his thigh he opened it and brought out the senbon needle he had coated with a poison. Looking at it for a moment he put it back and resumed finding his way in.

Upon reaching the northern wall he quickly scaled it and crouched down once he was over scouting the outer courtyard for anything unusual. He quickly took notice of the extra guards that were positioned. Skirting around the guards he found himself in the inner courtyard looking at the main house.

Onyx scouring his surroundings he quickly ran to the shoji door that led into the main house. The door didn't make a sound as it was pushed aside and he entered. Making a quick note of the surroundings he proceeded to find the son's room.

He inwardly smirked as it was quite easy to detect two chakras together. The son was married to a kunoichi, of course there would be two chakra signatures together. Winding himself through the halls against the walls he found the room that contained the two chakra signatures.

Pushing the wooden door open gently and only wide enough to let his body slip through he found himself against the far wall looking at the two sleeping occupants. The two people seemed to be quite content with each other as he could barely make out the two forms.

Smirking in a sadistic way he began to walk towards them, red eyes shining. Slowly he pulled out the poisoned senbon and held it in between his fingers. He froze when there came a rustling from the the figures and for a moment his eyes narrowed.

When the bed became quiet again he took another step and then another towards them. Within ten steps he was overlooking the bed. His body froze taking in the two figures on the bed. One was definitely the Daimyo's son Daisuke, but the other, it wasn't who he was expecting.

The vibrant pink hair contrasted her husbands apparent dark locks. The grip he had on his senbon became looser as he took the female in. It was his _bond_. Suddenly his grip on the senbon became deadly tight making his knuckles white.

It was _her_. _She_ was the _wife_ of the Daimyo's son. His jaw clenched as he held in his raw anger. He could get rid of his bond right now. Killing her instead of Daisuke. It would be so easy and the Rebels would still get the outcome they wanted. Civil War.

But it was _he_r. The pink and green that invaded his thoughts. Here she was in another mans bed with another man that wasn't himself. He watched as she moved _closer_ to her _husband_. He shouldn't be feeling _anything_. He _couldn't_ be feeling anything.

Lowering the senbon needle to a vein in his exposed neck where it would be a perfect place to kill Daisuke he stared at the two for a moment. He would take away her husband because Daisuke took her away from him. He hated emotions right now but right now all that was guiding him was his emotions. Of hate and spite towards the man. Positioning the senbon closer to the man's neck and vein he was about to insert it when a noise outside the room made him stop and look at the closed door.

Turning back to his target he was about to again insert the needle when the door crashed open. His hand retracted and he was about to disappear in a puff of smoke when he heard the familiar voice of the woman who haunted his thoughts.

"Sasuke-kun." his eyes flashed to her and locked for what seemed to be an eternity before he vanished.

* * *

**Hehe. i know i'm a little evil but hey no cliffy next chapter. i promise because i just looked at the chapter. **

**_Next Chapter: Sakura's reaction to seeing Sasuke as well as Daisukes and sasukes. Konoha starts figuring things out and what is sasuke planning now that he has seen sakura and what happens when Sakura tells Daisuke that she knows who sasuke is and her crush on him? _**

**Update:**** Wednesday most likely. **

**Please please review. you were so good last chapter! so please review!!**

also i have recently put up a one-shot of sasu/saku called Sakura's checklist, quite humorous and cute, you should go check it out if you want to while waiting for the next chapter.**  
**

**yoyo  
**


	6. Chapter 5: Making Discoveries

**Being nice and update today instead of tomorrow or wednesday. **

**thanks to those who review for the story. thanks a whole bunch**

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy  
**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Making Discoveries  
**

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* * *

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**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate  
**

* * *

Her eyes had to have been failing her. It couldn't have been who she thought it was standing over them senbon in hand. But the spiked raven hair and the cold onyx eyes proved that it was him. His patrician features were unmistakable and the partial smirk he had held was his and no one else's.

When the door had burst open she had immediately awoken to the sight of him and unconsciously thinking she whispered out his forsaken name causing his eyes to look at her for only a second before he vanished before her like a magic trick.

Daisuke was up as well, now getting up off the bed and trying to find out what was happening. The burst into his room had awoken him as well yet the only thing he knew was that Sakura had called out the name of 'Sasuke'. When he had looked when Sakura had whispered a name he had seen the shadow of a man. But what had caught him the most in only the second he saw him was his eyes. The black abyss they were held jealousy and anger, before the man disappeared.

Walking over to the men at his door he questioned them to what was going on. The response he got was that someone had infiltrated the estate and the first place they decided to check was his room. They had been right as they had seen the man nearly kill their leader.

Dismissing the men but making sure they stayed close and on alert he walked back over to where Sakura was sitting up on the bed. Sitting down in front of her he laid a hand on her cheek and asking if she was okay and in return she gave a shaky nod.

"Did you know that man?" he asked her running a hand through her tussled hair.

"I..I think so." she whispered, still shocked from who it must have been.

"Who was it?" his eyes searched hers as her head turned away slightly. "Sakura, who was it?"

"....Uchiha Sasuke." she whispered looking at him now, emerald going deep into his blue

"Are you sure?" he asked a little more urgently this time.

"Hai. It had to have been him." she said more clearly this time. "It looked like him." Daisuke pulled Sakura to him as Ino came into the doorway.

She had heard Sakura say it was Sasuke who had been in the room and Ino had stiffened. What had Sasuke been doing there? The man never working without a motive, so what could his motive be? She turned the corner to the bedroom to see Daisuke enfold Sakura within his arms. She would have to check on Sakura in the morning. Turning away from them she walked back to her room.

* * *

**Fire Country**

** Daimyo's Estate**

**Nearby Forest  
**

* * *

He growled in frustration. If she hadn't been there the mission would have gone off without a hitch, but yet she had been there and because she was a bond she had been a distraction. He was frustrated. Why was _she_ the only bond he couldn't get rid of?

Now the mission would be even harder to pull off because the estate would now be guarded even more because of the little escapade he had just pulled. He also knew Sakura had seen him so now he was on the hit list for the the Daimyo's shinobi as well as the top of the list, besides, the rebels for every other nation.

He would have to talk to the man he had spoken with upon receiving the mission. The same place, the same time, because now he had another motive for helping the rebels. Smirking almost sadistically he grabbed his cloak and threw it over himself before disappearing into the night. This time he would hurry.

* * *

**Daimyo's Estate**

**Next Morning**

* * *

The next morning she didn't awake rested. Instead she was tired as her sleep had only been consumed with thoughts of _him. _It had been _years_ since she had even seen him and now all the sudden there he was in all his darkened glory standing above her and her husband.

She could only guess he was there to assassinate her husband or her. Was he really then working for the Rebels? The one thing that really caught her attention was his eyes. There was anger coursing through them and maybe a little bit of repulsion.

Reaching over to see if Daisuke was beside her she found he wasn't. Looking around the room he wasn't there either. Sighing she knew he was probably out with the other shinobi trying to find last nights intruder.

Getting out of the bed she went into clean herself and upon returning out to the room she saw Ino waiting for her on the bed. Her friend's blond head snapped up at the sound of her footsteps. Getting off the bed quickly Ino came over and enveloped Sakura into a hug.

"Sakura, I heard about last night." she said to her friend leading her back to the bed. "Was it Sasuke?" emerald found baby blue.

"Hai."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Everything about him was familiar."

"Sakura, Daisuke left this morning for Konoha. He wants Sasuke dead now and he wants to do it himself." shock took its form on Sakura's face. Her husband wanted to kill her childhood crush and love.

She had repressed feelings for the Uchiha for so long but now, seeing him again she didn't know what to feel or think. Thinking that she would never have to see him again she could live her life in peace now but now everything was changed. Everything was more complicated.

How would she feel if her husband did kill the Uchiha? Would she feel remorse? Sorrow? Would she feel anger to the man who had made her happy but took away her inward happiness that the Uchiha had always held.

Ino could see the turmoil within her friend. As long as she had known Sakura she had been hopelessly in love with the Uchiha. It was always her desire to bring him back to Konoha, bring him back to her. But now she had Daisuke. A man that truly loved Sakura for who she was.

"Sakura, does Daisuke know of your and Sasuke's past?" Ino asked her friend.

"No." Sakura got out. "He doesn't know about Sasuke and me being on the same team or me liking him."

"Maybe you should tell him." Ino told her.

"Why? It would just complicate things."

"Things are already complicated. If Daisuke really does go after Sasuke how are you going to feel? You have loved Uchiha Sasuke for as long as I can remember and if your husband kills him, how are you going to feel towards your husband? Sakura tell him when he gets back. He needs to know." Sakura looked hopelessly at her friend and everything seemed to be crashing down around her.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

* * *

Through his rage he blindly crashed through the door of the office with three of his own shinobi flanking him and several Konoha shinobi following behind the four others. He planted his fists firmly on the wooden desk staring straight into the eyes of a very upset Godaime, who had risen from her chair

"What's the meaning of this?" she snarled at the man before her.

"You better start accomplishing something, that's what. You all are just a bunch of blundering fools." the man snapped back.

"And what haven't we done?" The woman growled.

"Kept up your end of the deal. My _wife_, your _apprentice, _lost the child and this morning I wake up to find your missing nin Uchiha waiting to go in for a kill on me. Your incompetence is ridiculous."

Tsunade stood in shock staring at the man before her. The Uchiha had make himself known and in what possible way but in an assassination move. What was the Uchiha doing?

"You're telling me Uchiha Sasuke was at the estate and preparing to kill you this morning?"

"That is exactly what I am saying. I already lost my child because you didn't figure out what was going on soon enough to prevent it. I _won't _lose my wife the same way."

"You also have a responsibility you brat." Tsunade growled at him. "She is just as much your concern as she is ours. After the birdie incident you should have been more on top of the servants within your own estate. We didn't think they would target Sakura specifically you moron, so don't act like we just decided to sit back and watch her get harmed. So shut up and get out." Tsunade finished her growling at the man.

Daisuke stared at the woman. How dare she just tell him off and then write him off. He was the Daimyo's son. Next in line to take over being the Daimyo. He was also the husband of her beloved apprentice. He did have some authority here.

"I don't think I made myself clear enough." he seethed. "I want retribution by any means possible. Do you understand that. I will take care of my servants by any means I see fit, but I want the Uchiha dead. Is that clear? And I want to be the one to do it." his eyes locked with the amber ones of the Hokage.

There was a short gaps behind them and for a second amber left blue to see who had released the gasp though it was obvious to who it was, before returning back to blue.

"I take care of missing shinobi, not you. I will deal with the Uchiha."

"You have no authority over me. I can pursue him if I want and I will. I'm just letting you know." he smirked at the now infuriated woman. "If you want to deal with him you better get to him before I do." he leaned back up and looked haughtily at the Hokage, before walking back a few steps and then turning his back to her and walking out with his own shinobi.

The Konoha shinobi present looked between the vacant doorway and the still fuming Hokage, standing and staring at where the Daimyo's son had stood before her letting her know just how serious he was about getting retribution and how mad he was at Konoha.

"Baa-chan, you're not going to let him kill Sasuke are you?" the question came out hushed and almost reverent. Amber eyes locked with the cerulean blue that had asked the question.

"Like he said, I have no power over his movements. The only thing we can do is try and find Sasuke first. But if he is in with the Rebels then we may have to take action to preserve Konoha." She stated at the blond. "Get Shikamaru in here, along with Neji. We need to talk."

The two that had been summoned came within twenty minutes. Now the room contained only a few people instead of the several that had been in there beforehand. Shikamaru and Neji were standing slightly off of the desk while Naruto and Kakashi both leaned up against the walls of the office with Shizune behind the Hokage.

"Shikamaru, we have had a situation arise. Maybe you can help decipher what it means." the man nodded. "Uchiha Sasuke was at the Daimyo's estate late last night trying to kill either Daisuke or Sakura. We also have the incident of the induced miscarriage. Can any of it connect to each other?" the genius took a moment before answering.

"Like I told you before, the Fire Country is by far the largest and the strongest. The Rebels were looking to have the civil war so the country would be easier to take down. They took the arranged marriage and are now using it to their advantage." Shikamaru stated.

"The arranged marriage stopped the civil war but they still know there is turmoil amongst us and the Daimyo. I can guess they wanted the child to be lost so their isn't a future heir for a while or to stop the line from continuing on. With the incident last night, they could have been planning to kill the son most likely, have the blame fall on Sakura. Knowing the Daimyo she would have been executed for his son's death and then there would be nothing stopping the Daimyo from attacking Konoha, thus causing a civil war. I can only think that in some way they are trying to accomplish similar to what the Akatsuki were trying to do and that they are trying destroying borders of the nations and creating one large country or nation with one leader, which would be them."

The people in the room were stunned by such thoughts that might be brewing in the minds of the rebels, but they were reasonable assumptions that couldn't be put past any of them and in a way it made perfect sense.

A group of Rebels, all defective from their home nation, trying to each get rid of the country and create one large nation. Thought the idea seemed preposterous it actually didn't seem that far fetched. It _actually_ made sense.

The only thing troubling the Godaime now was the fact that the son _hadn't_ been killed. The son wouldn't have _just_ woken up to find Sasuke standing over him and Sakura. There must have been something that had woken him up.

And the other thing was that the son didn't know what Sasuke looks like. It had to have been Sakura that told him who it had been. She knew her apprentice still harbored feelings somewhere in the heart of hers for the young Uchiha. But did the son know how far their relationship went? It disturbed her.

"Shizune." she said to the woman behind her. "Send an ANBU squad to track down Uchiha Sasuke. Have them track him but do not have them interfere with what he may be doing."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama." and the woman left the four men and the woman in the room.

"We'll track him and keep an eye on him but we will not stop his movements. I want to see what he is up to." the men nodded their agreement with Kakashi stealing a glance at Naruto. The boy's eyes had become a sad light blue. "You're all dismissed." she finally said and the four exited the room.

Swiveling in her chair she looked out over Konoha. Did somewhere in the Uchiha's black heart did he still have a connection to Sakura? It wasn't natural that the Uchiha would suddenly falter on a mission that would be easy to accomplish. Something had stopped him and she was almost sure it was Sakura.

She groaned inwardly. This is why she really didn't want Sakura to marry the son. It would cause problems and now it was causing problems for the Daimyo and for Konoha. But now the Daimyo would be even more of a target because of Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke, if he held any connection to Sakura, would be the target for attacks. Inwardly she prayed for Sakura's safety.

* * *

**Fire Country **

**Daimyo's Estate**

* * *

It was completely dark outside when Daisuke arrived back at the estate. He quickly wound his way through the estate to his and Sakura's room. He was anxious to see her again. When he had left her that morning she had seemed restless in her sleep and part of him was bothered by it.

Walking into the room, she was already in bed covers over her form. He walked over to the bed and quickly discarded his sandals, shirt, and pants before slipping under the covers and pulling her close to him.

"Daisuke." she murmurs and he shushed her before falling into a deep sleep himself. Kami knows he needs it badly.

He was gone in the morning when she awoke again. She sighed and knew that she needed to tell him about her past relationship with Sasuke. Frowning she cleans herself up before leaving the room. She walks along the halls she hasn't traveled in days due to her being confined to her bed.

She soon found herself in one of the gazebos sitting on a stone bench over looking the koi ponds. She had missed looking at the exotic fish while she was on bed rest. Feeling the need to look up she did and saw Daisuke approaching her.

She knew she would have to tell him, but was this the right time? He was already stressed out enough and she was sure that if she were to tell him that the result wouldn't be a good one. Once he was near enough to her, he stood beside her sitting form, a hand on her shoulder.

"You should be resting." was his only comment.

"I feel fine." she replied back, maybe a little too quickly but he didn't reply with words but with a tighter grip on her shoulder. She knew she had to tell him, so taking a deep breath, which got his attention she started.

"Daisuke, can we talk about something?" she asked nervously.

"Of course." curt and crisp.

"The man the other night, Uchiha Sasuke,.....I know him." she got out.

"Know him? How?" this time he crouched down in front of her, one hand holding the wooden pole near him.

"In Konoha, eight years ago, we....we were on the same genin team. He was teammate." eyes peeked up before going back down. "Back then, I...I had a crush on him, rather an infatuation with him." from the tops of her eyes she could see his jaw clench and unclench. "Later on I tried to stop him when he went off to Orochimaru's. For the past several years Naruto and I have been trying to get him to come back to Konoha and I was still in love with him." she whispered the love part.

"You....were in _love_ with him?" it was said angrily and she flinched when he said love with such repulsion. "Sakura?!"she turned her head to the side, she didn't want to face him, look at him even.

"Yes!" she choked out, tears threatening to fall. Before she knew he was standing yanking her up as well. His hand took a hold of her chin making her look at him.

His deep blue eyes interrogated her own emerald eyes to see if she was really telling the truth. Part of mind couldn't believe it. He had married a woman that was in _love_ with the man that had been trying to kill one or both of them only two nights ago.

"Do you still love him?" he asked making her want to shrink away from him. She didn't want to answer him. If she had told him of her past before this she would have easily been able to say yes to him but now, seeing him again, she was crushing on Sasuke all over again.

"No." she whispered letting her head drop.

"What did you say, I couldn't hear you." he sneered.

"No, I don't love him anymore!" it was a lie. Seeing him again with something akin to jealousy in his eyes that night made her heart beat faster and her old feelings for him that had been dormant for seemingly months had resurfaced and were crashing down on her. But she couldn't let Daisuke know, he already wanted to kill him for trying to kill them.

His eyes watched her, trying to maybe see if she was...._lying_ to him. But she would never lie to him, right? She had been in love with an S-class criminal and a missing nin. He watched as she tried to refrain from letting her shoulders shake.

His hands dropped from her body and taking one last glance at her state of distress he left her, long strides taking him away from her. This was a new development. He was going to kill the man she had loved. A part of him told him that he shouldn't kill the Uchiha, but inwardly he _had_ to kill the Uchiha before the Uchiha killed him.

If the Uchiha had only stopped himself from killing them because of Sakura then he would show the Uchiha what kind of man he was. She had said she had loved the Uchiha, but he knew that if the guards hadn't burst into the room he might be dead. But would he be, he could sense, after awaking, that the Uchiha was faltering and he had briefly seen that look in his eyes when Sakura had called his name. Jealousy and rage. Daisuke knew that somewhere in the Uchiha's being, that the Uchiha craved the blossom, but he would prevent that. Because she was his and not the Uchihas. He slid the shoji door closed ,the door connecting with the wood giving off a loud thump, that lead out into the gardens, leaving a torn Sakura.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Village Pub – Midnight**

* * *

Like the first time he was waiting for the man at the corner table again with a bottle of sake. He had traveled swiftly and had arrived at the village in four days. He was _interested _ in talking with the man who he had talked too last time. Besides they would now know that the mission didn't go as planned.

Soon he was facing the same man, except this time the man wore a scowl as he watched the younger one drink his sake with ease. Setting the bottle down the other man began to talk.

"You failed."

"Hn."

"I don't like failure. I don't accept failure. So get your ass back to that estate and finish the job."

"I have a different idea." the man scoffed.

"I don't _take_ ideas from the hired. Got it?"

"It would prove more productive."

"And what is your brilliant idea?"

"I want to play around a little." Sasuke told the man nonchalantly

"Play with them? What are you talking about. I want Daisuke dead. Do you hear, dead. Not played with. I can play with his mind whenever I feel like it. I want a civil war and I want him dead and that pretty little wife of his dead as well. They can both rot in hell. Get it?" Onyx narrowed.

"I can kill him but not her." a snort came.

"And why not her?"

"I have other plans for her. My idea would ensure that Daisuke would die, but a little more painfully."

"Fine, pray tell what is this idea."

"I know the wife, personally. Daisuke seems to be rather fond of her. I can use some persuasion and soon Daisuke will be dead."

"I don't know what you're up to but, I'll let you go ahead with this mess with them right now. Your pay is going down. I don't like spending money unnecessarily. If you kill him though there is a big bonus."

"Hn." he got up to leave and was walking past the man when he spoke again.

"Sad story about his wife though. Miscarrying like that. She was three months along, poor thing." the man told him with sarcasm dripping in his voice, but it hardened Sasuke.

She had gone as far as to get impregnated with the _man_. He would make Daisuke suffer for everything, taking her away from him the most important. Though he himself may not have realized it, she was the one that had grounded him. Her and her pink hair and green eyes.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter and things are going to start pick up from here. **

**_Next chapter: tension between Sakura and Daisuke, Sasuke comes back to the estate to begin his plan and new reports come into Konoha about the rebels and new information is at their hands._**

**update: when i feel like it, few days. want to finish chapter 9 and start on 10. also there is a poll i have on my profile about another story idea.  
**

**I will beg again, please please, pretty please, drop a review!! they make me motivated to write and i'm feeling a little down right now so please review!!!!:)**

**yoyo  
**


	7. Chapter 6: Into Action

**You people are really lucky, i can't believe i am updating the day after i last update, but i have done it before with other stories. **

**Thanks to all those who reviewed and there is an important update/review thing at the bottom. **

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy!!!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**Into Action  
**

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* * *

  
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**Fire Country **

**Daimyo's Estate**

* * *

Laying in bed that night was the worst for her. She knew she had hurt him by telling him about her past with Sasuke, if it could even be called a past. She had crushed on him to the point of madness and obsession, which was fine with her, and he had regarded her with his usual stoic attitude of life.

She was sure that Daisuke knew about the Uchiha Massacre, who didn't know about the massacre? It was what ended the existence of the Uchiha except three and that number was now down to one, and that was Sasuke.

What she had said about her loving him at such a young age, she knew it had disturbed him. His _wife_ had loved a criminal and a missing nin and she would not deny that she loved him because she did love Sasuke.

She had thought, and it had worked, that being married would erase her memories of love for him and let her heal from his leaving and not coming back. And for a few short months she had had that peace. That realization that life could be good without him, but just as suddenly as she was trying to forget about him he was right back in her life.

When she finally did hear the door open to their room she didn't move. She just waited there in the bed and for a few moments there was shuffling but then she felt the bed sink lower on his side. Expecting his arms to encircle she was mildly shocked when no such gesture came and she knew he was still upset with her.

Opening an orb she looked at him. He was lying on his back hands behind his head, looking disgruntled and unsettled. She inwardly sighed at his childish behavior, but at the same time she could understand it and couldn't condone it.

Trying to not draw suspicion to herself she turned so she was on her other side facing away from him. She could feel his eyes look at her for a moment before looking away and unconsciously she let a tear slip. She had gotten rejected long ago by the boy she loved and now she was getting rejected by the man she now thought she loved now.

The morning came and she did not awake in the arms of her husband. He was still in bed with her, which was rare, but his bare back faced her. Thinking she should try and patch up what she had undone yesterday by telling him about her and Sasuke in the past she stealthily scooted closer to him.

Wrapping an arm around his side she laid her hand on his flat abdomen while her face was between his shoulder blades. She heard a grunt from him but stayed where she was at.

"What Sakura?" he asked in a tired voice and her heart ached. This was once the man she was going to have a child with and now he was giving her the cold shoulder.

"I'm sorry." she spoke into his back. She had to move away a little for him to turn around to face her. He brought up his hand and brushed a pink lock away from her face, while his eyes searched hers.

"I am too." he gave her a chaste kiss before pulling her to him, but both could feel the tension that was still there between them.

Though she could technically be considered in love with the enemy, he just couldn't stay mad at her. At least she had told him of their relationship thought platonic on one side. And even though it bothered him slightly that she had loved him, he still loved her and would try not to hold it against her.

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Ino stared at the ceiling of the room. She had seen yesterdays talk in the gazebo and she knew Sakura had told him by the way he reacted from such a distance. She had nearly run over to them when she had seen him drag her up with him when he stood, but she had willed her body to stay still. They had to work this out.

After she had watched Daisuke leave the garden and a broken Sakura she went over to her friend. She had resumed her standing position that Daisuke had brought her into when he had stood himself. Her hands covered her face with tears streaming down her face.

The only thing Ino could think of was embracing her friend, which was what she did. She stayed with Sakura out in the gazebo for most of the rest of the day letting her friend regain some of her bearings about what was going on.

She could see her friend's inner conflict when it came to the two men. She had only known one for a few months and somewhere she had locked away the memory of the other man that held her heart. Ino would never have thought that they would ever see Sasuke again but fate had other plans for them and they were making themselves known.

The other thing Ino knew was that Sakura was healing faster than she had anticipated and that she would only need to stay for another day or so before heading back to Konoha and back to the battlefield. She would miss her friend dearly but that was the way of her life and she had duties to return to as one of the few medical ninja that were adept enough to be on the battle field.

* * *

**Fire Country **

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

* * *

Gripping the bottle of sake she lightly swung the bottle around while reading a message from the Tsuchikage. The reports had said that the violence had been decreasing in the smaller outer nations, but other nations were having the raids increased.

The bursting open of the door made her drop her bottle and look up but before she could yell at the intruder she saw the look the man had on his face.

"Lady Hokage, we just received word from the Mizukage, the Rebels are starting to make a direct approach to the Hidden Village. They have already hit the Daimyo's estate in Wave." Amber eyes widened. Swiping her arm across the desk causing everything on the desk to scatter to the floor she unrolled the map of the nations.

"Call all Jonins immediately." the man nodded and left to spread the word.

Within a half hour all available jonin were on the roof of the Hokage Tower. They waited in lines of ten with 15 lines going across the roof. They all knew something was wrong when all the jonins were called to the tower. There was shifting among the men as they waited for the Hokage to speak.

"I received word that the Wave Country is under direct attack from the rebels. I am sending ten teams to help with the defending of the Village Hidden in the Mist." Shizune stepped forward and began reading the names of those who were to go and in what teams.

Kakashi, Genma, Raidou, and Kotetsu were together as a team. They were personally approached by the Hokage. The four stood at attention when she approached the four.

"I want you to stop at the Daimyo's estate before you head over to Wave. He needs to be informed of what is going on. Also tell Ino she needs to return to Konoha."

"Hai." the four chorused before they left the Hokage's presence.

The four settled at the gates leading to and from the Hidden Village. They turned to each other and began to discussion.

"The Daimyo's estate is West while Wave is East. We need to be as fast as possible to be in Wave in two days. There will be short breaks but we need to keep a constant pace. Is that understood?" Kakashi asked the team. All nodded. "All right let's go then." the four sprinted out of the village and westwards towards the Daimyo's estate.

* * *

**Unknown Location**

**Under Abandoned Building.**

* * *

The footsteps reverberated in the passageway he walked down. He had been here several years ago when he had been with Team Hebi and now he was back again, this time for a little different reason. Making several turns he came upon a door and opened it.

"Whose there?" a scratchy voice came from the room.

"Elder Cat, it's Uchiha Sasuke."

"Ah, Sasuke, come in. I was wondering if I would see you again. I presume you killed Itachi then."

"I did."

"So then what do you need this time? More supplies, medicine, potions?"

"Hai. I have a mission that I need to prepare for."

"Another mission." the half-neko sighed. "What's the mission this time?"

"Confidential."

"You always were a quiet one about things. Fine, take what you need. Seeing as you are the only Uchiha left and I have enough of everything." he bowed before the half-neko and left her presence to begin collecting the items necessary.

It ranged from whetstones and kunai, from paper bombs to medicines. He also packed a few small food necessities and surprisingly it all fit into a travel shoulder pack. He thanked the half- neko before leaving the underground hideout.

The half-neko's eyes watched as the last Uchiha gathered his necessary supplies. There seemed to be the same anger that fueled him last time but this time she could see that at the end of this anger there would be a reward for the Uchiha, but what that reward was she didn't know.

When he thanked her she just nodded her head and watched him depart from the room and watched the door until his footsteps made no more noise that she could hear. She let a sigh at the young Uchiha. She had watched this clan since the beginning. It was extraordinary to her how such a clan as large and honorable as the Uchiha were, that it was reduced to a 20 year old boy trying to regain his standing in the world.

He was only about three days away from the estate and he wouldn't rush getting there. If part of his plan was to work he needed Sakura well and not under the weather. When the man had told him of Sakura's miscarriage, he was upset that she had dared gone as for as to conceive a child with the man.

But then he realized all along that it was what the Rebels wanted. That's why it was so _easy_ for him to infiltrate the estate. But the thing that disturbed him the most was that someone _knew_ he was there. His possessions had been well hidden from the ANBU scouring the perimeter and he could only assume that the Daimyo had no idea his estate was being watched by such high guard.

But that didn't bother him. He had gotten in before and he would get in again. That was part of his plan after all. Make them paranoid, at least make Daisuke paranoid. With him paranoid he would be more vulnerable. Though people would say that it would make people less vulnerable, it wouldn't because now he would slip up even more. But he still had a few days to work out all the details.

* * *

**Fire Country **

**Daimyo's Estate**

**After Dark**

* * *

The team of four had finally reached the Daimyo's Estate. It was probably close to around ten that night. Knocking on the outer doors they were granted entrance and then were escorted to a room where they would wait for the Daimyo or Daisuke.

Within ten minutes Daisuke appeared before them in a black silk robe. He looked over the four ninja with interest as they bowed before him before he began.

"What business do you have here?" He spoke sternly.

"We have information for your father as the Daimyo."

"My father is becoming ill. He had given me more direct charge of military action. Now what do you need?" he asked again impatiently. The four shinobi looked at each other before Kakashi continued.

"We have received word that the Wave country is being directly attacked by the Rebels. They have apparently already disposed of the Daimyo and his heirs and are now moving towards the larger cities and the Hidden Village. We are here to warn you of this impending attack and that in the future the Rebels may attack this estate. We also have orders for Yamanaka Ino, who has been serving here as a medic needs to immediately return to Konoha for further orders. She is to leave at dawn."

"Arigatou for the information. We will take it into concern and deal with the future threats that may be before us and I will see to it that Yamanaka Ino is informed of her duty. Will you be staying?"

"No," Genma began. "We have to head directly to Wave. Hokage-sama has issued several jonin teams to assist the Wave Country." Daisuke's jaw clenched momentarily, but nodded to them and dismissed them. The four again bowed and left the estate in a hurried walk.

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Once outside the walls of the estate Genma stopped causing the other three to stop as well and look back at the fourth member of their team.

"Genma what is it?" Kotetsu asked.

"Did you feel that back there? Someone was listening into the conversation." the three thought back to being in the room with the son.

"Hai, I remember now. There was a little chakra flare when he mentioned the attack to the son and it didn't come from him." Raidou stated.

"Then someone that is working with the rebels is also working under the Daimyo and his son." Kakashi mused.

"That would explain the bird, Sakura's accident, and Sasuke being able to get in. Someone was helping." Genma stated, thinking out loud.

"Uchiha Sasuke was at the estate?" Kotetsu asked.

"Hai, several nights ago. Trying to kill the son." Kakashi informed him.

"Do you think the Daimyo and the son are aware of this?" Raidou questioned.

"You think they would be, but they are probably thinking someone is just infiltrating not actually working there." Genma told them.

"It just means their oblivious to the fact. They don't want to think someone from their own estate would try harming them. Servants for the Daimyo are highly selected. Not just bums off the road. Which means they naturally wouldn't think, but in this time they need to." Kakashi said.

"Should we tell them, at least for Sakura's safety?" Kotetsu asked.

"They wouldn't believe us even if we did try and tell them." Kakashi notified them. "The Daimyo still isn't at ease with Konoha, they aren't going to back down that easy if we tell them something like that."

"Then what do we do?" Kotetsu questioned.

"Inform Tsunade." Genma told them, the others looking at him.

"That is exactly what we do." Kakashi smirked behind his mask. "Just pray that nothing happens in the meantime." the others nodded. "Alright, we need to get going to Wave." nods again were given. "Let's go." and the four took to the trees, speedily making their way towards the Wave Country.

* * *

**Wave Country**

**Near Hidden Village**

* * *

The four arrived near the hidden village but were stopped when a group of Mist shinobi stopped them from traveling any further. During the next few minutes they exchanged greetings before getting down to what was going on.

A group of rebel nin had attacked their Daimyo's estate only days before, before coming towards the hidden village. The mist shinobi had seemed surprised that the rebel group had gone around several smaller villages just to come to the hidden village.

The rebels had started their attack only two days prior. The mist were able to confuse them using their mist only for a little while before a nin that was from the mist countered it making the mist again at the disadvantage.

The shinobi informed them of the different jutsus that had been used and that in amongst the group were nin from almost all the hidden villages. Their force was great and were at the advantage due to the amount of knowledge of jutsus the rebel group had used.

The vast array was shocking. The shinobi in the rebel ranks were not amateurs. They were experts at the jutsus they did. Of course the entire group could not possibly be all jonin, and it was proved that one rebel shinobi that was taken hostage was a chunin level shinobi.

"Is he still alive?" Kakashi asked.

"Hai, we couldn't risk him dying. He's been well taken care of for his situation." one mist shinobi told them.

"Can we see this prisoner?" Genma asked from the side.

"Of course. The other Konoha groups have seen him as well. One tried to interrogate but we stopped him, he is our prisoner to interrogate." one mist said with a little fury at the end. The four looked at each other, before the mist shinobi led them away.

They were taken deep into the hidden village and then into a large building with hardly any windows. Going through the doorway they proceeded to descend a set of stairs before going down a dank hallway. There were overhead lights five feet from each other, so lighting was adequate.

They reached a holding cell and the shinobi made a hand sign and the door opened revealing two other shinobi with a young man behind bars with shackles on. The men could clearly feel that the prisoner had little chakra due to the shackles.

Kakashi and Genma approached the young man. They stopped in front of the bars and looked down at the young man. His dirty blond hair was in disarray and disheveled, half covering his mud brown eyes. The young man looked up at them with contempt in his eyes.

"It's pitiful when a group such as the rebels recruit young boys to do their dirty work." Kakashi mused loud enough for the boy and Genma to hear. The boy started at them but then sat back down. They could see pain and anger in his eyes.

"Which hidden village is he from?" Genma asked over his shoulder.

"We don't know. Getting information out of him has been difficult."

"I see." Kakashi looked at the young man. "I wish to speak to the Mizukage, maybe we can make an arrangement."

"The Mizukage is a busy man-"

"I _will_ speak to him." Kakashi interrupted the speaking shinobi, who glared at him for a moment.

"Of course. I'll take you to him immediately." giving one last look to the adolescent the two left the cell to reunite with Kotetsu and Raidou.

"Where are we going now?" Raidou asked.

"To speak with the Mizukage." Kakashi told him following the shinobi.

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The Mizukage's office was similar to that of their Hokage's. The Mizukage was a large burly man. His hair was graying but still had the darkness to it that made him look intimidating. His dark eyes scanned over them interested, but only for a moment.

"Konoha shinobi, what do I have to owe for this pleasure?" He interlaced his hands behind his back as he looked out a large window.

"The prisoner you captured, we have heard he has been a little difficult to pry information out of." Kakashi spoke.

"Ah, Hatake Kakashi, so what about the boy. He will give out his information soon enough."

"Soon enough isn't soon enough for Konoha. I request on behalf of the Hokage that you put him in our hands. We will take him back to Konoha for interrogation. After that if you still want him we will return him to you." Kakashi told him sternly and straightforward.

"And if I say no?"

"I will then interrogate him here."

"He is our captive-"

"And you have gotten no where in interrogation. We will tell you everything we get out of him."

"How can I trust you?"

"You can't, but in a time of war like this we must all have to rely a little on each other. All the nations want this to end. The sooner the information the boy has is out, the easier it gets to stop them."

"Until I get the boy back, the rest of the Konoha shinobi will remain here. No quarrels."

"Deal." Kakashi said, a smirk under his mask.

* * *

**Fire Country **

**Daimyo's Estate**

**Surrounding Forest**

* * *

His eyes roved over the estate again. This time he was paying extra attention to the guards around the area. He knew that it would be even trickier getting into the estate now that he had already infiltrated it before but with any luck the rebels would continue their rampaging villages and would draw the son away.

That was what he wanted. The rebels knew he was here and even though they didn't fully know the extent of his plan, they would unconsciously help him by attacking villages within a range that would draw out the son, allowing him the opportunity to enter into the estate from time to time.

When approaching the estate he had heard rumors of the rebels movements towards the Village Hidden in the Mist. To many people they questioned the approach of the rebels but he understood it well. The Wave Country was a small country, that was remote.

Get that remote country to fall by the hands of the rebels, the rebels would then a have a stronghold that was quite permanent and steady for them. It was a tactful move, because not only would they have a stronghold they would have the other countries focusing on the Wave Country and not watching their own backs, making them an easy target.

Seeing a messenger run out of the estate he quickly followed the man into the woods, staying a good distance away from him before he was completely secluded in the forest. Jumping down from his high tree he landed in front of the man cloak flapping around him.

The runner skidded to a halt in front of the cloaked man. His hand went immediately to the kunai pouch he had on his thigh. Soon a kunai was clutched in his hand as he looked at the blocker of the trail.

"What do you want?" the man asked angrily.

"What's your message?"

"Private. Only for the Hokage herself."

Sasuke looked the man over memorizing his features. The man was of solid build, yet leanly muscled. He had chocolate brown hair and smooth brown eyes. Sasuke smirked before he took out his own weapon. He held his kusanagai in his hand before muttering something and the only thing heard was a blood curdling scream.

* * *

**Hope you liked the chapter and just adding things to the plot and they all tie together. i know not a lot of sasu/saku yet but when they get together it's not going to stray a lot. **

**_Next Chapter: Sasuke's plan continues, and the prisoner get's interrogated leading to realizations and the start of trying to track down the rebels. _**

**_Update: Probably thursday or Friday_**

**_please review, I'll give you a motivator. ten reviews and there will be an update tomorrow. promise. but if i check at five o'clock my time no chapter. so what do you say, drop a review and you get towards more sasuke/sakura. _**

**yoyo  
**


	8. Chapter 7: Parts of the Truth

**You guys got the ten reviews but barely, so good job and here is the next chapter. **

**Thanks for the reviews.**

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**Parts of the Truth  
**

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

* * *

It took nearly five days for the jonin to get back to Konoha with their hostage. They knew the boy had some skills so the four had to take extra precaution when escorting the boy to Konoha for interrogation. Over the four days they knew that the interrogation of the boy wouldn't be easy and that it would take a lot of hard work for any of the interrogators to get anything out of him, except maybe Ibiki, that man would scare anyone just by his voice.

The boy, who said his name was Sadao, was around seventeen years of age. They hadn't been able to get anything else out of him but it didn't matter. Once in with the interrogators, it would all spill out within time.

The boys eyes widened upon seeing the large walls of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Konoha was a larger city than the Mist Village was due to the size of the country. The guards at the gate looked warily at the boy and soon ANBU surrounded the five shinobi.

"Hatake Kakashi." an ANBU with a fox mask said. "Who is this?" and pointed to the boy.

"A prisoner of the war. Take him to the interrogations unit. He'll need Ibiki to do his interrogation. He is a fiery kid." Kakashi told the ANBU. Genma and Kotetsu released the boy when the ANBU approached him. The boy looked fearful at the ANBU approaching him. He tried to wriggle away from them once they took a hold of his upper arms but it was futile and soon he was being taken by the ANBU to the interrogations unit, while the other four went to the Hokage's office.

They knocked on the door before entering into the room. They heard a quick curse before they were allowed to enter. The blond hokage gave them an annoyed look before talking to them.

"I thought you were in Mist." she drawled. "Why aren't you there?"

"Hokage-sama we were able to get our hands on a rebel shinobi. We have brought him back to Konoha to be interrogated. The Mist interrogates were having difficulty with him and they gave us permission to bring him back and interrogate him, as long as when we are finished we hand him back over to them and the information we have gotten from him."

"Where is the prisoner then?"

"Heading to the interrogation unit with ANBU. I requested that Ibiki deal with him as he his quite headstrong about being interrogated."Kakashi informed the woman.

"Good, head down to the unit and oversee the proceedings. I will be down in a little bit."

"Hai." the four chorused before beginning the trek towards the interrogation unit.

They entered the large building and walked down the corridors to find the room where Ibiki would be questioning the kid. They entered into a room that had a mirror in that let them see into the room but no one could see them. The young man had his hands manacled behind his back and to the bottom of the seat of the chair securing him to the metal chair. The chair was situated in the middle of the room facing a blank white wall.

Their eyes looked towards the door when Ibiki entered. The man was the same as usual. He wore his long dark cloak with his usual gray uniform he wore. His mouth was in a straight line as his eyes set a straight course to the back of the boy's head.

His footwear made almost thumping sounds on the concrete floor as he walked to where he was directly behind the boy. He saw the young man shiver slightly and Ibiki smirked. Mist interrogators were good but Konoha ones were better.

Slowly he walked around the chair, wanting to make the boy feel intimidated by his mere presence and it worked. The boy threw his head to the side to try and see who his interrogator was. But from where he and Ibiki were positioned he could only see the burliness of the man.

"Do you know why you're here?" Ibiki asked, voice resonating.

"H..hai, I do." the boy got out, already scared of the unseen man.

"Then be a good boy and give us the information willingly." Ibiki's voice tried to persuade the boy.

"No. You can't make me give the information willingly." the boy resolutely stated.

"Then I'll get it through torture." the boy stiffened. "But maybe before I'll just ask you a few simple questions."

"Wh..what questions?"

"Why are you so dedicated to a group of rebels? A strong young chunin like yourself, would have been a great asset to any hidden village, why leave?"

"Because the rebels believe in something greater than what the villages do." the boy said already falling for Ibiki's trap.

"What could be greater than trying to keep the peace of each country? To protect someone's own countrymen from rebels such as your group? You needlessly kill innocent people who have done nothing." Ibiki was goading him now and the boy still unable to see him.

"The nations don't want peace! They thrive on war! Sending shinobi out to make sure that their nation is the strongest. The Nations kill needlessly. The rebels, we want that peace!" the boy was becoming outraged and Ibiki knew it.

That was how he worked at times. He would mess with the person's mind making them unconsciously give out information that under any other circumstance they wouldn't even dare think about giving out such information. But the boy was young and fired up about his cause and anything that questioned him he would retaliate against and try to prove them otherwise.

"What kind of peace comes from destroying villages and killing innocents?"

"At least in the end there will be peace. They are the price before we can truly achieve that peace."

"What kind of peace, comes at the price of fraud, assassination of leaders, the killing of unborn children and the ruining of peaceful lives? What kind of peace is that?"

"The leaders do none of that. We have only attacked the villages because they are the examples of corruption that we need to be rid of. Their leaders must die because they caused such corruption. The leaders have told us nothing of assassination or killing the unborn. They aren't that cruel!" the boy yelled outraged, now visibly shaking. "The leaders aren't monsters. They are bringing peace to the lands."

Ibiki stared at the boy that was so blindly following the rebels. Of course the leaders wouldn't tell subordinates about the inner workings. They wouldn't tell of the assassinations they had done and the other crimes they were accountable for. In a way he felt bad for the lad. He had been seemingly brainwashed about what the rebels were truly seeking.

"What village are you from?"

"What does that have anything to do with this? But I come from the Village hidden in the Stone."

"Does one of your leaders hail from there as well?"

"I won't tell you that! You think I am stupid?!"

"Just weak minded. If you can't understand what they are doing I don't know why you would join them?"

"They are great men, Takao-sempai calls them great men." the boy suddenly realizing his mistake clamped his mouth shut. The four in the room looked at each other. Kakashi nodded his head and Raidou left the room.

"This Takao-sempai," Ibiki started, "is he one of the higher-ups?" the boy stayed quiet. "If you keep talking I won't have to hurt you."

"You'll hurt me anyways if I do talk." Sadao snapped, still not being able to see Ibiki.

"Maybe, but the pain won't be as bad if you give the information willingly." the boy sighed, he had already revealed a name, so now it didn't really matter..

"Takao-sempai is one of the leader's right hand men. He is a strong man and I envy him."

"Let's make a deal. You tell me what I want to know and you don't get any punishment from me." Ibiki stared at the boy from the side. The debate was clearly written on his face. Minutes later the boy sighed.

"Fine. I'll talk. It was two years ago when I first heard of the rebels. They were talking of the downfall of the Akatsuki organization. I heard them talking about how they wanted to create a new country. I thought just a small individual country but later on I heard from Takao-sempai that they wanted to unite the countries as one and have one leader or group of leaders." Sadao sighed.

"At first I was wary of what they wanted to do. It didn't make sense and seemed rather far-fetched. But then after a year they started to make their move. They would enter into the shinobi villages and persuade shinobi to join their cause and their ranks. Takao-sempai was my sensei at the time and heavily encouraged me to join and I did."

"The rebel shinobi are defected shinobi?" Ibiki asked and Sadao shook his head.

"Many are still loyal to their village almost playing double agents, though many did just turn over and marking themselves as missing. Many of the shinobi come from Rain, Stone, Mist,Grass, and Cloud. Also a large portion from the remains of the Sound Nation." Ibiki's face looked towards the wall where he knew Kakashi was watching.

The amount of countries and villages that had given up shinobi for this rebel group was almost astounding. But based on the fact that the leaders had been talking for two years meant that everything that had happened was thoroughly planned out.

"Do you know anything about the leaders?" a head shook.

"No, they keep to themselves. I have only heard of them. There are said to be five of them and one is the leader of them all. I've heard they meet in the Rain country every few months." the boy sighed and dropped his head. "I've already said too much. If the rebel leaders ever found out I gave this information, they wouldn't allow me to live." Ibiki looked at the boy

"You'll stay here for the time being." Ibiki said before walking out of the room and let two ANBU enter and get the boy before leading him down to where the prisoners were kept.

Kakashi nodded to Genma and Kotetsu, who were still in the room, that they should leave. The three met up with Ibiki after several hallways and the four headed to the Hokage's office, also meeting up with Raidou along the way.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

* * *

"Haku hasn't returned yet from Konoha." a fellow shinobi informed Daisuke, who looked out towards the koi ponds and Sakura.

"Send a squad to search for him then and give your report." Daisuke informed him before getting out of the chair he was in to leave the room. The shinobi bowed respectfully before leaving and calling for two others.

Daisuke made his way towards where his father would be at at this time of day. Sliding the door open to the naturally lit room he saw his father basking in the hot waters of the hot springs. They weren't natural but they did do well to soothe ones aches.

"You wanted to see me father." the older man opened his eyes and looked up at the almost younger version of himself.

"Hai, I did. I wanted to talk you about becoming the next Daimyo. As you know my health is starting to fail and with all this talk of rebels and war I am slowly becoming more and more tired. I want you to continue being the Daimyo in my stead."

"Father, you still have a while to live yet. It isn't proper for me to take over when you still have many years left."

"I have practically given you all the responsibilities of a Daimyo except the title. I sent a runner about a week ago to Konoha letting Lady Hokage know of what I am planning. I know the loss of the heir is still tender but I also want you to try again and have Sakura conceive an heir"

"I don't fully understand your reasoning for me becoming Daimyo but Sakura needs time still to recover. She is not yet well enough to carry a child. Give her some more time before we try again. Also the scare a little while ago has scared her, as she says she knows the man who wanted to kill me."

"I heard about that. But her conceiving a child with you again will let that man be permanently erased from her mind seeing as she was once infatuated with the man."

"Fath-"

"Daisuke. This is what I want and you will do it." Daisuke's jaw clenched.

"Hai father. I will talk to her later."

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Forest Outside Daimyo's Estate**

* * *

"Taru-san come look over here!" a male voice called to the team leader. Two other shinobi soon found themselves besides their comrade looking down at a corpse.

"It's Haku." one whispered. The corpse lay on the ground, burn marks covering the man's body and all of his weapons and message carriers were gone.

"Someone based with lightning had to have done that. Those aren't regular fire burns but more like electrical burns." one stated pointing out the differences.  
"Who would know lighting jutsus that wanted to harm a runner for the Daimyo?" a second voice said.

"I don't know but we need to inform Daisuke-sama of this and I don't think he will be happy." the two nodded in agreement.

* * *

**Daimyo's Estate**

* * *

The three ran through the front entrance and straight into Daisuke's office. They found him hunched over at his desk fingers rowed through his hair and him looking straight down at the desk. All in all he looked miserable.

"Daisuke-sama, we have a report from our search." the man names Taru spoke.

"What is it?" Daisuke said not lifting his head.

"We found Haku, but he's...he's dead. It appears it happened right after he left. We didn't find anything on him besides his clothes. The person who killed him must have stolen the scroll as well." They heard Daisuke mutter something under his breath.

"Send out two squads to search the surrounding areas. The man who did this is probably still around here."

"Hai!" they chorused before again leaving the room and calling another squad to search the perimeter"

Once the men had left the room he turned his head, still fisted in his hands out towards the koi ponds. It had been about a week or so since the accident and loss. The medic nin from Konoha had said to give her at least two weeks, she still needed at least another week.

But then there was the issue of the other man. She knew now that he was very well alive and had seen him. How would she feel about doing something like that after seeing her first love as she said he was. He might actually scar her instead of helping her get over him.

Then the issue of him becoming Daimyo. He had known his whole life that that was what his life, his training, everything had been leading up to. He knew his father's health was starting to fail but it wasn't _absolutely_ necessary to make him the Daimyo and with the fragility of the country right now how would the people feel?

They didn't feel secure in their own homes, how would they feel when their Daimyo was suddenly changed. Sure the people knew him and respected him but in the midst of a war with rebels and tensions still between them and Konoha, it might just be enough to erupt the country again and this time there would be no arranged marriage to settle anyone down.

While consumed in his thoughts he watched his wife still sitting overlooking the koi ponds. He didn't know why she had such a fascination with the exotic fish. Maybe they fit together, because she was just as exotic as the fish.

When he had first seen her in Konoha walking with a loud blond he had almost dismissed her but then when she had turned her head and body and he had gotten a full look at her, he knew that she was the girl he wanted.

When he had told his father and the Hokage about how if he couldn't have her then there would be no arranged marriage, his father had been delighted but the Hokage had nearly gone into a fit of rage.b little did he know that he had picked her very own apprentice.

For the next few days after that he watched her. He watched her work, train with her blond friend, a pale skinned boy and a silver haired man. Watched her as she mingled among her friends and even get drunk one night. How she talked and walked among the streets with vendors in buying food and how he had come to realize that she lived alone, by herself in a small apartment.

Everyday he had watched her he longed for her even more and now watching her look over the ponds he had her but there was a nagging feeling inside of him that was telling him that ever since she had seen that Uchiha he felt that he might actually be losing her and that was something he didn't want.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

**Surrounding Forests**

* * *

His hand clenched the scroll that he had been reading and re-reading for the past few days. His eyes fastened on the Daimyo's Estate as he again clenched the scroll. That worthless brat thought that he would and could get rid of him. What a fool.

All he wanted was to set this scroll on fire in front of the man that proclaimed that he would be his killer. If Itachi couldn't kill him, if Madara couldn't kill, who could kill him? Certainly not a brat like the Daimyo's son. He may have had training, but that man's caliber was no where near where his was at.

Finally acting on his impulse he sent the scroll up in flames and dropped it in front of his sandaled feet. He watched as the flames licked and curled the edges of the parchment. The seal around it began to fade in the flames. Soon it would be nothing but ash and he wanted it that way.

His eyes again locked on the estate. If that man wanted to try and kill him it would be when he wanted to face the man. He wanted to drive Daisuke crazy with worry and then paranoia, making the man second guess _everything_ he did, and it would be....fun, for him to watch.

And then the final act would be to steal his precious _wife_ away. It made him recoil slightly finding out that she had been pregnant with such a man. He knew it was an arranged marriage and that he knew the Daimyo would want his son to have an heir as soon as possible, but it rather pissed him off.

But it didn't really matter, he knew she still harbored her old feelings for him. The way she whispered his name in almost reverence, it was quite satisfactory for him. Also the way her eyes looked at him for those few seconds. He could always read her through her eyes. She had been confused and nervous, but also relieved and there was almost a wanting in them that made him pulse with a desire for her.

Over all this time she had never forgotten him and somewhere in his being he was relieved by it. It just meant that driving Daisuke over the edge would be that much easier. Get his wife to cheat on him with the man that he wanted to kill it would send Dasiuke over the edge and he was sure that if he wanted or told Sakura to go to bed with him she would.

His lips smirked. It was really all to easy. But now there was only thing that was irking him at the back of his mind. The Daimyo himself. He had heard of the rebels completely killing the Daimyo and anyone related to him in the Wave country, but that was not so with the Fire Country. The rebels wanted everyone dead except the Daimyo himself. It was quite disturbing to him in all actuality, but as long as he got what he wanted he really didn't care.

Supporting his back against the tree he continued to watch the estate with curiosity. He knew the Konoha ANBU were still around but that really didn't bother him, the only thing that began to bother him was when he saw two squads of the Daimyo's shinobi come out of the gates and head straight in the general direction he was in.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

**

* * *

  
**

The five looked at the fuming Hokage that was sitting at her desk and getting very close to throwing her precious bottle of sake. If she was thinking that they knew that she wasn't in a very good mood. They watched as she gently placed the sake bottle down and began to chew on the tip of her thumb.

They had just informed her of what the young hostage had informed them of. At the beginning she was pretty calm and then throughout the telling of the information she began to get angrier and more frustrated with everything they were telling her.

She was practically fuming and shouting curses in her mind. The information was heavily needed and now that they knew _something_ about the leaders they could start making a move to try and crush the rebels and their little, well now rather large group.

Upon hearing the number she was rather startled. She could have assumed that the sound shinobi that had been left behind of course would have joined up but to hear that so many from the other nations and with their kages not even doing anything to stop it. And upon hearing that ninja from both Konoha and Suna had not allied themselves with the rebels was a rather big relief, except the Uchiha.

She knew he was was working with the rebels to now get rid of the Daimyo's son. He was the only Konoha shinobi that had in a sense defected. He was a missing nin anyways but she had always believed that in some way he was still loyal to Konoha but after Daisuke had rudely visited her it seemed quite unlikely now.

But he hadn't killed Daisuke and that was what was _still _ bothering her. He hadn't done it. It was such an easy mission for someone like him who recently had been killing without qualms, yet one mission against the Daimyo's son and he falters, and the only conclusion she could think of was Sakura had something to do with it.

"Good job, Ibiki. We needed that information. Have ANBU escort him back to Mist. I want you four." she said pointing at the team of four besides Ibiki. "To head towards the Rain Country and amd try and smoke out where the leaders are having their secret meetings. Take as long as you need but report monthly."

"Should we let the Daimyo know of the new information?" Genma asked from the side and Tsunade again bit her thumb.

"No. We'll keep this information to ourselves for the time being. When the ANBU squad takes the boy back we'll just tell them he didn't release any information to us either. The information we now know stays between us, no one else needs or should know about it."

"Hai." four said while Ibiki just nodded in agreement. The five were dismissed but before reaching the door a messenger ran into the room with a scroll held tightly in his hand.

"Hokage-sama, Mist just sent a message. The Rebels have taken over their city and the Mizukage is dead!"

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter and a little twist to it. there are a lot of plots and sub plots running around so if you have any questions about them please ask. **

**_Next Chapter: Sasuke's plan continues, Daisuke leaves for Konoha leaving sakura by herself, and Konoha keeps figuring things out, and sasuke and sakura again meet face to face._**

**_Update: I'll do the same thing i did last chapter because i too want to get to the sasu/saku parts so 10 reviews by tomorrow evening and you have an update. fair enough. so ten not a large number so please:)_**

**_yoyo  
_**


	9. Chapter 8: Disturbed Silence

**I got more than ten reviews so thank you thank you thank you. really happy to know you guys like it. _read bottom a/n notes, important._**

_Thanks to those who reviewed!! you made this chapter possible to read today._

**Disclaimer: i keep saying/writing it : don't own Naruto**

**Enjoy the chapter :)  
**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**Disturbed Silence  
**

**

* * *

  
**

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

**Surrounding Forest**

* * *

He pushed his back off the tree and crouched as he watched the eight men race towards the forest in his general direction. The only thing he could deduct was that they were looking for something or someone and that he was most likely that something or someone. With the urgency they were moving with he could assume they found the dead corpse of the messenger he had killed several days ago.

The eight men soon stopped in front of the vast expanse of forest and for a minute or two they stood there, words being communicated between them and soon the eight were now in four groups of two. He knew he shouldn't attract too much attention but maybe just one group could be the example.

Red eyes watched as the four groups took different sections of the forest to scour out. One in the trees while the other on the ground and he knew it was only a matter of time before one group caught on to him, though he could easily hide himself, why hide himself when he had a goal to achieve.

Though this little incident would speed his plan up it didn't really matter. The son had given him a perfect opportunity to let him know that someone was watching and that they should be watching their backs, because that's exactly what he wanted and things _always_ went how he wanted them too.

Quietly he descended from the tree's branch to the underbrush to hide himself knowing a team of two would be coming right in this direction and they would be the first to let the Daimyo and his son know that he didn't play around.

A crack of a branch and a soft curse was heard not fifty yards from him. Slowly he dragged his hand to his kunai pouch and retrieved a kunai as well as a shuriken. Crouching in the underbrush now he activated his kekkei genkai and waited for the two to move into place so it would be easy for him to strike one and then make an example out of the other but he would use fire this time.

The two mens' voices were coming near and he refrained from rolling his eyes thinking how stupid could these men get. They were trying to capture or look for someone, with all the racket they were making it would have driven off the target but he wasn't the normal target. They thought they were the predators and he was the prey but no, he was the predator and they were the prey and they didn't even know it.

Looking to his right he saw the sandaled foot of one of the men. Stealthily he moved and all that was heard was a soft moan as the man fell face first to the forest floor his throat cleanly slit. He saw the other man above pause after a while because his partner was nowhere to be found below him.

The man jumped down from the trees his black uniform glinting slightly in the sunlight that wafted between the density of the trees. Red eyes could see the movement of the man's eyes as he looked for his partner that was now gone.

"Haru?" he called in an alarmed soft voice. "Where are you?" his arms began pushing undergrowth aside and looking for the fallen teammate. A short gasp and a cough came as Sasuke could see him discover his fallen comrade. The man's hand shot to cover his mouth as his eyes bore down at the dead man before him.

The man stumbled back a few paces before falling backwards on onto his back, chest heaving. All Sasuke could think of was that the man was weak. The man was a shinobi and acting like this meant that he had no right to even be called a shinobi, but even though the man wasn't worthy of the title shinobi he would still be an example.

The man soon recovered from looking at the body of his dead comrade. Getting to his feet he knew he had to meet back up with one of the groups that was still out there and let them know, that someone was among the forests. Deciding to come back for the body later he started to run back towards the forests openings to the open areas.

He only went a hundred feet before he slid to stop looking at the dark figure in front of him. Squinting his eyes he looked at the man that had a cloak over his form and the hood over his head.

"Who are you?" the man yelled at him. No reply came to his question. "What are you doing here?" the head lifted upwards and red eyes was all he could see. His body unconsciously took a step backwards.

Still looking at the hooded figure and then blinking he was gone. The man stiffened and drew out a kunai for protection. His head swung around and his body followed trying to locate the mysterious man. Before making another turn he felt the cool tip of a kunai at his throat.

"Who are you and what do you want." the man asked in a shaky voice.

"I want him dead and her for myself." the hooded man said menacingly. "and you are going to be the example." the man was physically shaking now.

"What are you going to do?" the hooded man said nothing but from the corner of the captured man's eye he could see the lips of the man turn upwards in a smirk.

"You don't want to know."

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage's Tower  
**

* * *

The occupants of the room stood frozen in their places, all thinking the same thing. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't be true. Mist Shinobi were strong and were specialized, it would be extremely difficult for an army of rebel nins to take down the Mist, especially the Mizukage. He was a strong man, hard on his shinobi but was intelligent with tactics. How could such a man be....dead?

Once the initial shock got through all of them heads turned to each other before turning to the Hokage. Her fist was clenched and they could see the whites of her knuckles and figured that she had to be drawing blood in her palm because of her tight clenching.

"Get Shikamaru in here." everyone stood still. "NOW!" the men jumped and Genma rushed out of the room to find the lazy ninja.

By the time Genma returned with Shikamaru, the men had gotten over their initial shock and now their minds were reeling with all the information they had received within the last few hours of the day. Shikamaru glanced around the room to see who was in there before immediately deducing something was terribly wrong.

"Hokage-sama you called." he said tiredly

"Hai Shikamaru. As one of the villages strategists and one of the most intelligent men, your skills are required." lazy brown gray eyes narrowed. If she was praising him like that he knew that she was having a very bad day and that he had a lot of thinking and deducing to do.

Within ten minutes all the information he needed was out. He rolled his eyes slightly and sighed heavily. This would be a pain, and troublesome for him and would only cause him sleepless nights, again. He was still trying to recover sleep from the last couple times he had figured something out and then it had nagged his mind for days afterwards.

"It was a smart move for them to attack Mist first. They are an isolated nation that is quite small in comparison to all the other nations. No other nation could interfere with their plans of attack. Now they have a stronghold for their men." he sighed and continued on.

"Rain is probably where the main leader is from seeing as it is the main meeting place for them. The leader probably does most of the negotiation with assassins and other shady men. It would be less conspicuous that way." he looked around the room to see how the others were taking in what he was telling them.

"What about all the shinobi?" Kakashi asked the jonin genius.

"The only countries not mentioned are Fire and Wind. The rebels of course know that they would be immediately stopped if they tried to gather shinobi from either place. It is against the laws to provoke such an incitement against the leaders of the village. They would have been caught and their plans foiled. The other countries are more lenient when it comes to such things. You should continue to interrogate the boy, now that he is permanently here in Konoha. Protection from the rebels might make him talk more."

"Should we tell the Daimyo?" Tsunade asked and the five other men looked at her questioningly. Was she doubting herself.

"I wouldn't tell him. He is already enraged at us at the moment over the Uchiha incident. Besides it might be better that the less they know the better. They only need to worry about keeping Daisuke and Sakura safe for now, this would cause distraction."

"Then I might as well let you six now what I received from the Daimyo about a week ago." the six men looked at her quizzically. "He wants to make Daisuke the Daimyo."

"He doesn't want to wait? We are in the middle of the war." Genma started.

"It is a rash move on his part but he is adamant of the change as soon as possible. I sent out a runner this morning. I wish to meet with Daisuke before anything proceeds concerning him becoming the Daimyo."

"Is that wise? He would be leaving Sakura behind." Kakashi stated.

"There have been no more incidents of violence around the estate ever since Uchiha's visit a little bit ago. It should be perfectly safe at the moment. Besides the rebels wouldn't see it coming if the son just left. They wouldn't have time to do anything." five of the men looked at each other before shrugging or nodding. "He should be here in a few days."

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Village Pub**

* * *

Only three of the five men were gathered this night as they assumed their seating arrangements around the table with the regular sake bottles around them. Their cloaks were wrapped tightly around their bodies.

"He got Mist in a short time. I thought it would take a little longer than a week." the bored voice dripped.  
"He's just showing off." the younger one snapped.

"Enough." the authoritative voice said. "We got the Mist, that's what we wanted. Who cares how long it took. At least we didn't have to wait too long. That would have been unnecessary."

"What about the old man? He's good at providing information but he can't meet with us as easily as he used to." the young man asked.

"Don't worry about him. Besides he's provided us with invaluable information and resources to the Fire Country. And besides he just made a very good move for us. If things work out everything will fall into place quicker."

"What about the Uchiha? I don't trust him." The bored voice spoke.

"He is helping us as well. Though the mission failed, his objective has become even more intent. His rage is unparalleled right now. He will get rid of the son for us."

"What if he turns on us?" Boredom asked in an interested tone.

"He will not. He has to much at stake and he is a missing-nin. No nation will accept him." The apparent leader told them taking a drink of sake.

"That is why we have nothing to worry about him." the other two men looked at each other unsure it it was entirely true.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Outside Daimyo's Estate**

**Surrounding Forest**

* * *

"Where are Haru, and Yuki?" one of the men asked exasperated. "We all agreed to meet in two hours right here."

"Maybe they found something." Another stated.

"We should go look for them before going back. Daisuke-sama would not be pleased if we came back with two men missing." a third voice spoke.

"Which direction did they head in?"

"That way, I believe." A fourth voice spoke up.

"Then lets go look." the third voice said.

The six men began to run towards the area where the other two men were supposed to have been searching and as they entered the forest they formed a line to scour the place more efficiently.

Sasuke watched from the tree tops above where the two men lay dead. His kusanagi rested in his lap as he watched their companions come and search for them. One he saw was heading straight towards where the men lay, he would be the one to find them.

As the man that Sasuke was to find the men approached the area he began to slow down and cautiously began to walk fast but not run or even jog. On the trees he began to see fire burns and charred wood. Looking at the soft dirt he could see the shuffle of foot prints and his mind began to tell him something had gone on.

Drawing a kunai he positioned himself in a defensive stance as he continued forward, unaware of the man above him looking down on him. Pushing aside a few branches of the undergrowth he found the first man's body. Face first on the ground with a pool of what appeared to be a brown substance around his neck area, but the man knew it was blood.

His head jolted upwards from the ground as he began to frantically scour the rest of the area to find the other man that had been with Haru.

"Yuki!" the man yelled as he began to wander around a perimeter of the other man. Seeing more burn marks he followed them until he came to another clearing and saw the other man, Yuki.

"Oh kami." he breathed falling to his knees. The body could barely be recognized as Yuki's but he was the only other one that was out in this area. Getting back to his feet he turned from the charred, deformed body and walked away a few steps before yelling he had found them.

Within minutes the other five surrounded him before he led them first to Haru's body and then deeper into the woods to show them the other body of Yuki. Most all the men had the same reaction upon seeing the body.

One of the men stepped forward to further inspect the body when a kunai with what seemed to have a message attached landed in front of his body just feet away from the other body. The other five looked at the man and then the note.

"What does it say?" one of the men asked. The one that had the note in front of him pulled the kunai out of the ground and pulling the note from the kunia he read.

"An example." was what the man said.

"An example. What does that mean?" a man asked.

"I don't know but we need to report to Daisuke-sama immediately." the man told them.

"What about....them?"

"Bring Haru's body. There's nothing we can do for Yuki." he told them icily before turning and leaving them and began to head towards the estate

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

* * *

The six men walked through the gates and they only sound they met was gasps as the servants of the estate saw the dead body of one of their shinobi draped over the back of one of the men. Two men went with the man that held Haru's body while the other three went directly towards Daisuke's office.

Rapping on the door the three entered, one flanked by the other two. Daisuke's head rose from looking over a document. His blue eyes scanned the men that stood before him.

"I thought I sent eight out, where are the other five?"

"Haru and Yuki have been killed in the line of duty. The other three survivors are taking taking care of Haru's body."

"What of Yuki. He was one of my best men?"

"His body was unattainable. He was 'an example' of something."

"An example. What do you mean?" Daisuke's full attention was on them now.

"When I stepped forward to look over the body more this note was attached to a kunia by his body." the man walked forward to give the note to his leader.

"What did the body look like?" Daisuke asked leaning backwards.

"It was burnt. It looked like it was a battle of fire jutsu and taijutsu. The man Yuki must have been fighting is extremely well trained in both areas to defeat him."

"I see. Then do you believe there is someone watching this estate then?"

"I believe so sir. I believe that this man is trying to scare us."

"Scare us? That's interesting. Should we be scared?" Daisuke's words hit hard.

"N..no sir."

"You stutter the answer. Answer truthfully."

"Yes, sir. I believe that we should be scared. This man, if it the same one that killed the messenger has a repertoire of jutsu and in different elements. We don't know the full extent of his powers, we should be at least cautious."

"Good answer. Then what should I say to the Hokage who has asked me to come for a meeting in Konoha? Should I go?"

"Yes, sir. You are the strongest here on the shinobi arts here at the estate. Of course you will not go without an escort, but as soon as you get to Konoha you should inform Lady Hokage of the happenings here at the estate."

"And who would you suggest 'escort' me?"

"Sir, that is up to you. You know the men better than I."

"Of course. You are all dismissed." he waved them off, staring at their backs as they left the room.

Someone was trying to scare him, that he knew. Once he heard that his messenger hadn't gotten any farther than twenty minutes he knew and he had a good guess as to who the perpetrator was. There was really only one logical person it could be.

It was the Uchiha. He was almost positive of it. There had been a flicker of desire in his eyes as he had stared at Sakura. No man would set himself up around the Daimyo's Estate to do something if he didn't want anything, but the Uchiha did. The Uchiha wanted his _wife_. Looking out the doors towards the Koi pond he again saw Sakura sitting in the gazebo her gaze out at the ponds. If the Uchiha wanted her then he would have to put a good fight because he was sure that he was not going to give her up for anything.

Later that night the two lay in bed together. Daisuke held her against his chest as they tried to sleep but for some reason neither could sleep.

"I will be leaving for Konoha tomorrow." he told her.

"What for?"

"Lady Hokage would like to speak to me concerning certain matters."

"How long will you be gone."

"A couple of days. A week probably at the most."

"Be safe then." she said half heartedly and he knew it. She had seemed distracted ever since the night almost two weeks before. He didn't sayanything to her comment but focused on falling asleep.

He watched her sleep as he dressed himself in his shinboi attire. Picking up his pack that held other formal clothes he gave a kiss to her forehead before leaving the room. He called for the shinobi who would be accompanying and with few words they left the estate, much to a certain hidden man's pleasure.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Outside Daimyo's Estate**

**Forest**

* * *

He smirked upon seeing the Daimyo's son and a group of shinobi exit the estate. Clearly seeing the pack that they each held he knew that they would be gone for a period of time. It would be the perfect opportunity to start turning his little wife against him.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

* * *

Amber eyes watched as the jonin she had sent out to assist the Mist came back through the streets. It was a blessing that they hadn't lost these jonin. Ten squads had been sent and all ten had made it back alive at least. Some were immediately taken to the hospital but for the most part they were fine and in pretty good health.

Turning back to the four that she had in her office she began to talk to them and instructing them on their next mission.

"You are to head to Rain. Find the leaders and do recon. I want all the information you can gather on them. They could be in any village in Rain, so I am giving you all the time you need. I want reports monthly and if you gather any information I want you to relay it back at once."

"Hai Hokage-sama." The four chorused.

"Kakashi, you will lead the mission. All four of you are good at recon. so I want no mistakes. You leave immediately." they all nodded and began to file out of the room. Just as soon as the door closed behind them it was opened again by her dark haired assistant.

"Tsunade-sama, Daisuke-sama has arrived to meet with you. He wants to begin talking immediately." the dark haired woman got out.

"Tell him he's going to have to wait. I have more important matters to attend to. Send all team leaders from the squads I sent to Mist in here immediately. If they are too injured get another member of their squad. I want to know details."  
"Of course." Shizune bowed and left the room and approached the Daimyo's son.

"Gomen, but she has has already arranged to meet with several jonin squads. She will have time to talk to you a little later. I can have someone show you to your quarters though." Daisuke made an annoyed face but consented.

"Fine, lead the way."

"Akiko, can you take Daisuke-sama to his prepared room." Shizune asked a brown haired chunin in the area.

"Of course." the young girl spoke leading the man away. Shizune sighed once he was out of sight before going and trying to assemble the squad leaders.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

**Night**

* * *

It had been an easy slip in again and this time there would be no interruption. Following the same course through the main house he was once again outside the room that she was in. He could feel her chakra as he stood outside of the room. His eyes wandered the halls for a moment to make sure that no one was in the halls and no one would disturb him

Opening the door he again found himself along the far wall facing her lone sleeping body. His lips twitched up in a smirk as he saw her. The woman that _tortured_ his mind while he was awake as well as when he was asleep. He could clearly see that she was in a deep sleep seeing how she barely moved her body and the only movement was the slow rise and fall of her chest.

She was laying on her back giving him practically the perfect view of her. Onyx eyes watched as her chest rose and fell and how her pink lips were slightly parted. She had a hand near her head on the pillow and the other lying over her stomach. She was in a quite vulnerable position especially to him.

He began his walk over to her until he was standing directly over her. He half debated if he should even wake her, but he knew he should and with a voice that could be mistaken for a sin he spoke.

"Sakura." he spoke in a voice of silk. Her body stirred and again he spoke. "Sakura, wake up." It was now an order for her to do so and for a moment her eyelids fluttered.

"Nhn." was her reply and he cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Sakura, wake up." it was spoken little harsher than it was last time he spoke it. It half irritated him that he had to repeat himself, but this time it got a response.

"What?" she spoke in a sleep slurred tone a hand coming to her eyes to rub them in a childlike manner. He smirked slightly, she would always be childish no matter how womanly she looked.

"Wake up before I leave." he spoke and this time it got a stronger reaction. The hand that had been rubbing sleep worn eyes stopped and drifted away from now open emerald orbs.

He could see her eyes take him in and that was exactly what she did. She saw his silhouetted form standing over her but once the sleep was gone from her vision she saw the inky locks that fell framing his face, his patrician features that were a pale white and thunder cloud eyes that bore deep into her soul. He was standing right over her, the man she had chased for years was standing resolutely before her and her mind could hardly comprehend it.

"Sasuke-kun, what are you doing here?" and he smirked.

* * *

**oops, another cliffy. sorry about that but it leads right into the next chapter. so there were a few little details that are starting to connect, but they will connect more later, but if you know what they are good for you. they are really subtle though**

**_Next Chapter: Sasuke and Sakura talk and his plan begins with her but will it backfire on him? the prisoner is again interrogated and more information comes out and what does it have to do with the Fire Country?_**

**Update:I am going to see how well you review but if there's lots of reviews you can expect an update tomorrow. if not saturday, but i think you would prefer tomorrow. **

**so please review:) **

**yoyo**

also i have a new poll out just to see what you guys would be interested in reading next. i am on chapter 13 of this story and i am planning about four to five more chapters i think, i don't want to rush the ending but it's getting good at least where i am at, just because so please go poll so i know what you are interested in so i can focus my attentions on that story after i finish writing this one.


	10. Chapter 9: Truths and Feelings

**Being nice and updating because i really want to get to the really good stuff. I am getting so excited, because i am starting chapter 14 and something good is going on, its intense and good. so keep reviewing and i keep updating fast.**

**Thanks for all the reviews, that i didn't have to beg or bargain for i love them and you are the greatest for reviewing!!!**

**Disclaimer: DNON and if you have read the manga this week i love the WTH look that team hebi/taka gives Tobi, it;s really great. i had to look at it for a little bit and just had to laugh. i don't think i have ever seen sasuke with that expression let alone the whole team. **

**Enjoy the chapter.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**Truths and Feelings  
**

**

* * *

**

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

**Night**

* * *

That familiar smirk made its way across his face as she asked the question. What was he doing here? Was he there to see her? His eyes scanned over her for a brief moment taking her in. He hadn't seen her in at least five years. She had to be about twenty and they had seen each other at Orochimaru's lair when they were about fifteen years of age. Five years did wonders on a human body, especially a females.

He looked over her. She had grown a little taller he expected though he couldn't tell while she was laying down but maturity had been good for her. She had lost the baby fat that she had still partially held last time he had seen her and her body had become more defined to his eyes than it had been years ago, but then now she was in a simple sleek sleeping yukata instead of an outfit for fighting.

He could still feel her gaze on him as he looked her over some more. Slowly he was trying to think of a good answer. If he would come out and say it then it might not get him what he wanted, but maybe it would. Was she still that love-sick puppy that she had been years ago, flirting and blushing whenever he said anything and how she would swoon when he would directly say something to her?

Was she still that little girl or had she matured and when someone said someone said something intimate to her, did she blush or take it and go with it? So instead of going with the flat out truth he would go around it and say something that would make her think and make him determine if she still was that little girl or if she had grown up and become more mature about things, but still feel something towards him.

"Why do you want to know?" he huskily said and her heart skipped a beat and her gaze became even more intense.

"Sasuke, what are you doing here, what do you want?." she whispered coming onto her elbows and pushing her chest out unconsciously, and he took notice of it. "I'm sure your not here for me, you've never liked me and you never came back to Konoha or me."

With the end of her answer he knew she was still that love-sick girl she had been before but to a much more mature level. She regarded him with compassion and love somewhere in there but she held it back. She didn't raise her expectations that he might be there just for her. He had been there before but it had been to kill her husband.

"What if I wanted too?" he daringly asked to her.

"Then why didn't you?" she shot back at him, all sleep gone from her now.

"Konoha betrayed my clan. I don't like traitors." he spoke angrily ,starting his little plan.

"You yourself betrayed Konoha Sasuke." the -kun suffix was dropped. "I don't like traitors either." this statement stunned him. He never betrayed Konoha, he left Konoha and in the end he found the truth.

"I know the truth about Konoha. I never betrayed Konoha, I left and found truth. You live in darkness." her eyes narrowed in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you really want to know?" it was the hook and she took it.

"I do." she spoke sitting farther up and motioned for him to sit on the bed, which he did after pondering it for a moment or two.

She felt his weight on the bed and right then it made her come to reality that he really was there, with her, on her bed, sitting on top of the covers that she was beneath. She studied him again with his hair sticking up in the back as it had always done and how is nose always looked so angled from the side. He felt her gaze again and a part of him liked it, how she was giving him this attention and not the other man.

"After I killed my brother I was taken in by Uchiha Madara and he informed me of Konoha's dealings before the Uchiha Massacre. My father was planning a coup d'etat. My brother was in the middle of everything was playing a double agent for both the Uchiha and for the Sandaime. The Elders underhandedly forced the Saindaime to give the orders to exterminate but he wanted to hold off but when it became apparent that the clan would stop at nothing, Itachi was give a mission to exterminate the Uchiha and he did so, only sparing me. Itachi threatened the Elders afterwards to not harm me or he would spread Konoha's secrets to the enemy nations, he did everything for me. " he paused and turned his head towards her.

"I want the Elders dead before I _ever_ think of returning to Konoha and I want Tsunade to know of the truth behind the massacre but as long as the Elders live I can't."

"You want me to help you?" she spoke. That wasn't actually his objective but it would help things go smoothly.

"That would be danger-"

"Let me help you." she pleaded back lurching forward hands in her lap, she was only inches away from his body.

He looked away from her and soon he felt the bed shifting, she had changed her position so she was now sitting almost diagonal to him on her knees. He felt her hand touch his shoulder and he flinched slightly, what was she doing to him?

"Let me help you." he could feel her breath against the back of his neck and for an instant he wanted to just turn around and do what he wanted with her, but he refrained. It was too early in this game to do that.

"Why?" he asked coldly. He felt her stiffen.

"Because I still care." she took a breath "because I have never really stopped loving you." his head turned to the side to see her face hidden behind a veil of pink hair.

"Then why did you marry him?" he asked just as cold.

"It was to make peace between the Daimyo and Konoha. A civil war was about to erupt when the Elders on both sides agreed to an arranged marriage. Tsunade-shishou was to choose the girl, but Daisuke came to Konoha unannounced and apparently after seeing me he told them he wouldn't marry anyone but me." she sighed and a hand brushed part of the pink hair.

"That night, our first night, I wanted it so badly to be you. I wanted you to be doing that to me not him. When I got pregnant I thought I could forget about you, but you were always on my mind somewhere in the back, never letting me forget. Then I lost the child and then...then you appeared and everything came back. I haven't been able to look at him since without thinking of you." she admitted to him and without thinking he turned around to face her partly and one of his own hands came up to move back the other locks of pink hair that shielded her face from him.

"Let me help you. I want to." she pleaded with him.

"But in the end you still have a husband." he told her.

"I don't care." she cried to him. "Helping you just once more would make being married to him worth it." what was she doing to him? He was re-thinking everything. He only came to turn her away from her husband, to betray him, not jump up and help him.

"I...I have to go." she looked at him jade eyes widened.

"Sasuke-kun, please, no." He stood up her grabbing onto one of his hands.

"I have to go." and he did. She watched as smoke again filled the spot where he was standing and for the first time in a long time she cried over him.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Outside Daimyo's Estate**

**Forest**

**Night**

* * *

She wasn't the same, that was for sure. She had acted mature and wise about things instead of blatantly saying something and regretting it. Her feelings for him were the same as well, but with age she had learned to control them better and channel them.

But now it was even harder. She made him question everything he had wanted, and what he was trying to do. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to return to Konoha but something inside him, when he was there with her, made him look at things a little differently. Would he return to Konoha if the Elders died, could he return to Konoha, knowing that she was in another man's bed? She had said that if she could help him this once it would be enough for her, but maybe not for him.

When he had felt her breath across his neck it made him surge with fire. He wanted to turn around and ravish her right then and there, but he knew he couldn't. If he had it might have ruined everything he had worked for for such a long time. But what exactly was he working for? The downfall of Konoha or just the Elders? Did he want the nations to be ruled by a group of rebels. It was similar to what his father had wanted to do, just on a much larger scale.

Though it went against everything he had planned for. The game he was playing with her was working, but maybe a little too well. It was supposed to have worked work easily, he would have just told her the truth and she would swoon back into the girl she had been, gladly welcoming him back, but she had already done that. He wanted her to come to his bed to make her husband angry, not get her riled up for his cause. Telling her of the truth was only to get her sympathy, to get her defenses down , not have her go to Tsunade and demand he get retribution. That wasn't his plan but maybe it could be?

Shaking his head he had to clear it he knew he had to make some decisions and soon. It was also rather....annoying. He had never been this indecisive before and it was all because of a pink haired woman that made him have emotions. He would go to her again tomorrow night and maybe he could do just as Itachi had done. Be a double agent for Konoha and the Rebels and somewhere in there declare his loyalty, even if it would only be to a pink haired woman.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage's Office**

* * *

Daisuke was rather bored as he sat in the chair in front of the desk. It was his second day of being there and this was his first time he had been since he had arrived yesterday and now the Hokage looked rather drunk and was clutching a bottle of sake and all he was thinking was 'who the hell put this lady in charge?'

He watched as she drunkenly looked over several documents that were spread over her desk. He was about to say something but a hand stopped him from saying anything. He leaned back farther into the chair. This was a complete waste of his time, he should be back at the estate looking after Sakura and trying to find the Uchiha that seemed to haunt the forests at the present moment.

"Lady Hokage, I have other matters to attend to." he snapped at her. "I can't just sit around all day while you look over documents."

"If you know what's good for you, you will shut up and let me read. These documents are what your father sent me letting me know that you are ready to become the Daimyo. I myself, after that little outburst, think you are still quite young and inexperienced to the workings of it all and naïve in what it takes to be a Daimyo."She looked up amber bearing into blue. "Now, though your father gives you incredible recommendation, this isn't just an easy decision. I have to work with the Daimyo at times, and I am not sure if I want to work with _you. _Do you understand that. You are still very sheltered to the real world, being sheltered in an estate and getting any pretty girl you ask for. The _only_ reason I am considering this is because my apprentice is your wife, do you understand that. If she wasn't I wouldn't think of accepting this."

"My wife has nothing to do with my taking over the role of Daimyo."

"Yes, she does. Your _wife, _my _apprentice,_ has skills that you don't posses. She is a great asset to you and that's the only reason I am looking at this. This is also a very delicate time to even think about something like this. Our country is being burned and pillaged and your father wants to pass authority. That just makes him suspicious. Now I will still need a few days to consider this and talk with my advisors. You will need to stay in Konoha for the time being. You can go now." she looked away from him and back down to the documents.

"I also wanted to discuss something else with you though. Your Uchiha has been causing some trouble around the estate. Three of my men have been killed and I can only guess its your Uchiha. I have given you warning about him and now since he is in my territory I will take him down. Do you understand that?"

"The Uchiha is of no concern to me. However if you do find him, he needs to come in for interrogation before I can let you execute him. He has crimes to pay for here as well." Tsunade looked at the man before waving her hand finally dismissing him and the boy stalked out of the room trailing a heated aura.

She watched him leave the room with his temper in check though she knew he was about ready to throw a temper tantrum after what she just said to him, but he had no right to kill Uchiha Sasuke, only the leaf village claimed that right. But if he was around the estate that must have meant that he was around there for Sakura, or at least that's what it could mean.

Eyes roved over the documents again and again. Though in reality she had no qualms about placing him in such a high position the timing was what bugged her. Why would the Daimyo, in the middle of war, would he want to exchange power? It just didn't make sense especially with the son's life in danger. Something didn't add up and that was what bugged her.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Forest**

**Near Rain Border**

* * *

The four took a break each standing on a tree branch as they looked at each other. They were near the border of Fire and Rain and now it was time to plan a little. Knowing what each other was thinking about they gathered on a larger tree branch and from a pocket Kakashi brought out a scroll, or rather a map when it was unraveled.

The Rain country was a smaller country compared to the Fire country it was surrounded on all side, by Fire, Wind, the Village Hidden in the Rock and Grass. On the map that Kakashi sprawled out it showed all the small villages along with the larger ones as well.

"We should start with the inner villages and then head outwards." Kakashi spoke.

"This is going to take a while since there are numerous villages and we have no idea where they could meet and the boy said they only meet every couple of months." Raidou.

"That's why we ask around, without being to suspicious. Ask the local pubs if they have seen a group of four or five men every couple of months. Or if they have seen anything suspicious. It will draw less suspicion that way." Genma told them. "Where's the first village we are going to check out?" Kakashi looked down at the map and then pointed to a village near the center.

"We'll ask around there and then head out from there. It's the most central village besides Ame. If they have seen them or heard of them they will know which direction we need to go." Kakashi stated. The other three nodded and then they resumed their tree hoppinh after Kakashi had rolled the scroll up and stashed it away.

"We can be to the first village by tomorrow night if we continue traveling tonight.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

* * *

After Sasuke had left she hadn't been able to get back to sleep. It had been strange feeling him so close to her again. It evoked emotions in her that she had never felt with Daisuke. After he had disappeared she had continued to sit there waiting and hoping that just maybe he would come back and that she would be able to see him again.

She knew he was around the estate as she had overheard that one of Daisuke's messengers had been killed with lightning techniques or more specifically electricity it seemed and immediately she knew it was him, but what exactly was he doing here and last night answered her question to some degree. He had been there to see her to some degree, but now the question again was why? Why did he want to see her?

And then at the end when he hurriedly decided he needed to leave after she blatantly told him that she would help him even just this last time. And by the sound of his voice it almost sounded as if he wanted to go back to Konoha but only after the Elders were dead, but then the only people for him there were Naruto and Kakashi. Then the look in his eyes after she told him this last time would be enough, in his eyes she could sense it wouldn't be enough for him and that's when she realized in maybe some small way, that he needed her like she needed him and that brought comfort to her.

The day came with slow realization and she remained in her room the entire day not wanting to be disturbed by anyone. The servants knocked constantly on the door and food was placed in the room briefly before the person who had dropped it off left, just watching her lay in bed curled up.

If she had known that seeing Uchiha Sasuke, talking to him, would affect her this much she would never have agreed to marry Daisuke, but at the time she thought he was lost to her and then after so many months and years he was back and there was now something between them and it was her _husband_.

Right now all she wanted was for him to come back and sit on the bed with her, just for him to be near her. She assumed that he was nearby anyways because he was able to infiltrate the place twice without difficulty but she knew that if he did come back it would be at night and hopefully he would be back later this night.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Interrogation Building**

* * *

Ibiki stared again at the back of the young man that had been in here only earlier in the week. The boy sat with his back to him, Ibiki still wanted to make the boy nervous about who he was talking to without revealing himself to the boy. The boy sat there staring straight ahead.  
"What do you want now?"

"Your friends took over Mist." the boy remained quiet. "What are they planning now?"

"Like I would tell you." he snapped to the bare room that he saw.

"The information can very well be tortured out of you." the boy stiffened, it was a wonder how a boy like him could have ever been in a group so crass as the Rebels. Ibiki made a movement around the boy and the boy yelped.

"No! I'll tell you." he whined and Ibiki sighed, this boy was a weakling.

"Do you know the names of the leaders?"

"Only one. He does most of the underground work. He finds everything out, he's got people working for him all over the place. His name is Hurama Kenji, he's supposedly from the Village Hidden in the Clouds." Sadao got out quickly. "He's got spies everywhere, in all the countries."

"Do you know any of his subordinates?"

"I overheard one name. Jiro, I didn't get a last name, but I think he does recon. for them in the Fire Country. He works close to the upper class of people. I don't where though, he works for someone higher up though as a servant I think. He's gotten valuable information for them from where he works though.

"Do you know the rebels next move?"

"The only things I've heard are that they were going to attack Mist. They don't dare attack Fire or Wind yet. I've heard one of the leaders has connections to the higher ups of Amegakure though. That might be the next country to get taken over."

"Do you know where the leaders meet?"

"In Rain country. I've heard it's a smaller village, but don't know exactly where. They've also been meeting more frequently now that their plans are pushing forward. I think I might know of one place in the Fire country that Kenji meets at. It's a small pub near the border. That's where he gets his informant meets him at." Ibiki stared at the boy who has just willingly vomited up all this information because he was scared of torture.

Sadao heard the boots of the man behind him lessen and fade and he determined the man was walking away from him, they got the information they needed for now. He hung his head. He was weak and he knew it. His sempai, had told him that fighting for the rebels was a great cause and that nothing could get in the way of their great plan to unite the nations.

He believed in that. He wanted that peace that the leaders promised them. The freedoms they would gain and how everyone would be equal. There would be no need for ninja anymore because there would be no war and there would be less death by the hand of a man. It was what he wanted, but then how come he was here spilling all of his knowledge to an enemy village? Because he had finally realized that the rebels were selfish. Someone would always oppose them no matter what they wanted and that saddened him, for in this world there was no peace, it was all relative or temporary and somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that in time the rebels would lose to the nations.

* * *

**Hope that was good. i was a little nervous so hopefully it turned out good. if you have any questions please ask me. i want you to understand.  
**

**_Next Chapter: Sasuke and Sakura meet again, truths revealed and a little heated moment and he asks something of her. a little moment with the team in Rain, Konoha piecing things together and questions asked and is there a spy in the Fire Country or even Konoha?_**

**Update: Let's see how many reviews i get again, but you guys and gals did great last time.**

_**POLL: PLEASE POLL I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO READ NEXT, SO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE POLL!!! IT TAKES A MINUTE OR LESS!!**_

**please review because i want you to read what is coming up and lets see if we can get over 100, woohoo!!!  
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**yoyo  
**


	11. Chapter 10: Deceit

**Here's another update for you. **

**thank you so much for all the reviews and alerts and favorites. they are appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy the Chapter.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**Deceit  
**

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* * *

  
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* * *

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

**Night**

* * *

Sleep didn't come to her, or rather it couldn't. Just the thought that _maybe_ Sasuke would come to her, was enough to send her into a sleepless oblivion and it did just that. The estate was silent as she could hear the crickets chirping their regular night song and an occasional splash from a koi fish if everything in the night was still enough.

She knew it was nearing midnight and groaning she deciding to get out of bed and made her way towards the wash room where she proceeded to strip herself of her sleeping yukata and step into the lukewarm water that was now cascading over her head and shoulders. Her hair became plastered to her skin and she relished in the feeling of the cleanliness the water brought over her.

Turning so her front was to the warm cascading water she brought her hands up to gently rub her face. She was tired, exhausted even, both emotionally and physically. With sleep deprivation and with her constant thoughts upon Sasuke she didn't realize how tense she actually was and that just being engulfed in the warm water was soothing to her in many ways.

Turning her face upward she let the warm water run over her face and she reveled in the feeling. Wrapping her arms around her upper body she just stood there relaxing and clearing her mind. It was late and she figured Sasuke wouldn't be coming back that night. It was dangerous enough that he had come the previous night to see her and he probably wouldn't risk coming to see her again.

Turning of the lukewarm water she stepped out of the enclosure and grabbed a nearby towel to cover herself with. Quickly drying her body she shrugged the sleeping yukata back on before taking the towel to dry her damp hair. Letting the towel slip out of her hands when she was done she exited the room only to be met by the same Uchiha Sasuke leaning against the far wall of the bedroom.

At first she gaped at him, just watching him as he casually leaned against the wall as if he owned the place. Her eyes roved around the room making sure nobody else was there before she turned her attentions back to him and began to speak.

"What are you doing here?" she asked quietly. "It's dangerous for you to be here."

"I see no problem with coming back." he told her still leaning against the wall clad in all black as he was the night before.

"Sasuke," no -kun again. "What are you doing here? What do you want?" her eyes scoured his body for a moment before they scoured his eyes, trying to find any hint of his real objective for him being there.

"A lot of things." he murmured.

"What?" she asked questioning him.

"I want a lot of things, but only two are important." her eyes narrowed at his vague statement.

"Sasuke, why were you here a while back?"

"A mission." she nearly sighed, he loved his short answers.

"A mission to do what? By your face you didn't know I was here."

"I was ordered to assassinate....... your...._husband_." He ground out the last word. How he _hated_ saying that word to her. He expected a gasp from her but no such reaction came but only a question.

"Did the rebels send you?" He nodded. "Then I can accurately assume it was them that caused my miscarriage." His eyes shot open this time red because of anger. He didn't want her to mention _that _to him. "Why do they want him dead?"

"He's the Daimyo's son. Next for the title." He told her eyes still blaring red at her.

"Your mission failed, why are you back here then?" She asked still standing at the entrance of the wash room.

"Other motives became more apparent to me." she scoffed.

"Let me guess, you've had this overwhelming urge to kill my husband and then take me for your own personal libido after seeing me after five years. Is that right Sasuke?" She mocked him, but she was absolutely right. She watched him for a moment before closing her eyes and drawing a breath. Yet when she opened her eyes he wasn't there.

Her eyes darted around the room trying to find him. She turned around to see but he wasn't there before she turned back to face the wall he had been leaning against and all she could do was gasp because he was now right in front of her only inches apart from each other. Her head shot up to look into his face as his eyes looked down at her.  
"And what if that is the case?" he told her maneuvering her backwards and instead of going back into the wash room her back hit a wall his body covering her own, with him pressing into her. She gasped lightly as his hands came to rest beside her head.

"It wouldn't be." he cocked his head at her statement.

"Why?" he asked bowing his head so his breath blew against her ear.

"You don't have emotions." she got out, becoming heavily flustered. "All you care about is revenge and hate and deceit. You killed innocent men for your own gain so you can reach your own selfish goals, a person like that can't feel."

"Why?" he asked again.

"You're to caught up in your own ambitions you don't care about others. This is only on a whim to you. You have no capability of loving someone, let alone liking someone. It is only lust for you." she whispered his face going into the crook of her neck.

"Are you sure?" she nodded, not trusting her voice anymore. "What if it was more than lust?"

"It wouldn't matter." she breathed out feeling his cool lips pressed against the skin of her neck. "You always seem get what you want in the end, don't you Sasuke?" his head arose from her neck and now his lips were only inches from hers. His onyx eyes boring into her soul.

"Yes." he scorned, before his hand reached for the back of her neck and pulling her in for a searing kiss.

It was so sudden to her that she mistakenly gasped allowing him to plunge deeper into the kiss. His tongue swept through her mouth. Tasting and feeling everything and unconsciously she let out a low moan. The sound caused his blood to surge in his veins and he pushed closer to the woman as he ravaged her mouth. His unoccupied hand went down to her hip where he gripped the cloth and the skin beneath it, pushing her against him causing another moan to be heard.

Her heart was pounding as she let him take control over her mouth. Her once still hands had come up to wrap around his shoulders and hang onto him. It have never felt this good with Daisuke and she was sure this was the meaning of the forbidden fruit always tastes the sweetest. One of her hands unconsciously started playing the hairs as the base of his neck, while the hand in her hair tangled her locks up even more as he gripped her head.

She gasped for air as soon as his lips were removed from hers and as his lips became attached to her neck. She could feel his tongue trace over the skin on her throat and giving into the racing emotions she let out another low moan and she could practically feel his smirk against her flesh.

"We have...to..stop." she half moaned out.

"Why?" his muffled voice asked.

"It's not right. I'm married."

"and in love with another." he snarled releasing her neck to look at her pained face. He knew it she was still in love with him and there was nothing that she could do about it and it was working perfectly for him.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Small Village**

**Sheltered Canopy  
**

* * *

Genma huffed as he wrapped his cloak around him tighter. He liked rain but when it was as constant as it had been for the past three days it was getting rather annoying. The other three looked at him as he continued to huff, silently complaining.

"Don't be so down, Genma," Raidou teased the man. "Only a little longer and then we'll back in Fire.

"We've had no leads and that lady over there is giving me the creeps." Genma retorted.

"What not up to your standards." Raidou joked at him.

"Oh heck no! I like a tinier waist than an elephant and sorry but her breasts are the size of Tsunade-samas, it would never work out." Genma retorted, partly insulted they were making fun of him in such a situation, but then again Kakashi was reading his Icha Icha Paradise as always, making their minds wander.

"I'm sure she would give you information if you-"

"Don't _even _finish that sentence." Genma snapped. "I will have nothing to do with her."

"Hey Kakashi did you get anything from the other pub?" Kotetsu asked.

"Hai, the man said there was a small village about fifty miles to the north west. He knows the owner and he says that they usually met every three months but it's becoming more regular last few months. They all wear cloaks to shield themselves. It's the best lead so that's where we go." Kakashi informed them eye never leaving the page of the book.

"Finally, something." Genma praised.

"Genma, we've only been in Rain three days and you're already over it? Kami help you because we are going to be here for a while." Raidou said causing Genma to curse.

"Come on kiddies lets go." Kakashi said leaving the canopied area, while the others looked at him before re-emerging back into the rain, again causing Genma to curse.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

* * *

Daisuke again found himself in the accursed office the the drunk Hokage. She was the Hokage for kami's sake couldn't she at least act like it. Again he saw her eyes roving over the multiple sets of documents appraising him and recommending him to become the Daimyo.

"I will need to speak with your father and his counselors, before I can come to a decision-" Daisuke was about to interrupt. "Your father would have to come here anyway if you were to be granted the title of Daimyo. I sent a message for him this morning to come and bring his own counselors. They should be here tomorrow and then all of us can talk it all out."

"What about Sakura, shouldn't she come as well?"

"No, she would be of no use here during these proceedings. I hope you realize that if you are to become Daimyo, you will need an heir as soon as possible. You need to talk to her when you get back if you are granted the title of Daimyo and take over your father's stead. Is that understood?"

"Hai Hokage-sama." she waved him off and he went quieter this time than he did last time. After he exited Shizune came into the room followed by a team of jonin hand picked by the Hokage herself.

Amber eyes studied the four in front of her. It was team ten with the addition of Sai. She looked over the four of them watching how the acted just standing there in front of her waiting to get a mission order. Ino stood straight with hands clasped behind her back, Shikamaru stood next to her slouched and leaning heavily to his right, while Choji snacked on chips, and Sai just stood there. It was an odd group at times but they were good shinobi.

"We've come across more information dealing with the rebels." this caught their interest. "There is a spy working in the Fire Country that is relaying information to one of the leaders. Apparently their meeting spot is a small pub near the border of rain." they looked a little uneasy now.

"Your mission is to do some recon. We need the information that is being relayed and try and find out where the man is located in the Fire Country. Sources tell us that he works for someone higher up in the Fire Country, so after you get the information he gives to his leader then follow him back and then report." The four nodded. "Shikamaru you will be leading this mission." the boy nodded.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

* * *

Her kimono moved silently over the wooden floors as she walked through the building to head out to the gazebo and admire the koi fish. Last night she again had proceeded to get no sleep. Sasuke had kept her against the wall for a while after their mind blowing kiss, while she tried to sort her feelings out but the only thing she remembered were his last words. She had three nights to make her decision. Her husband or him and right now she was torn.

Upon passing her father-in-laws office so to speak she heard voices coming from within. Though she had been told if she heard voices she should just keep walking by but right now with all of her emotions on high and also her senses she followed the instinct of eavesdropping. Stepping closer to the door she began to hear the voices more defined.

"Daimyo-sama-" the servant began.

"Use my real name Jiro-san." the Daimyo said, she actually had never known his name and listened closely.

"Furusawa-san," it was just his last name and Sakura lamented "There was a messenger this afternoon from Konoha, the Hokage wishes to speak with you concerning Daisuke-sama's role to become Daimyo. Hokage-sama says it is urgent and that she would like you to be in Konoha by tomorrow evening and she wishes for you to bring your counselors along as well."

"Of course, I figured she would be wary of Daisuke becoming Daimyo, inform the counselors and have the stable boys get preparations ready. We leave in the morning." the man was about to leave. "Are you going to the point soon?"

"Hai, sir. In the next few days we have a meeting. Why?"

"Take this scroll. A source has been saying Konoha is starting to figure things out. He should be aware."

"Hai. It will be delivered." he told the Daimyo. She heard the man begin to walk and hurrying she made her way out to her spot in the gazebo only to have the Daimyo come out a few minutes later and walked up to her before stopping beside her.

"Sakura-san, I have received a message from Konoha, I will be leaving tomorrow to travel there to meet with the Lady Hokage. She has instructed that you not come, so I will be leaving you here with plenty of guards rest assured. I will make sure you will remain safe here during my absence as well as my son's."

"Of course." she told him, "May I make a request Daimyo-sama?"

"Of course, my dear." he said lightly.

"Will you deliver a message to Lady Tsunade for me. I haven't written her in quite some time and I wish to speak with her."

"Of course, write it tonight and seal it and I will make sure she receives it."

"Arigatou Daimyo-sama."

"Your welcome. I also might as well tell you why I have been called to Konoha. I have asked for Daisuke to be made Daimyo." jade eyes widened.

"I am getting along in age and in health and I believe he will make a fine Daimyo for this nation. Do you not think so?" she paused and tensed.

"He will make a great Daimyo. He is a strong and caring man. He will lead productively, and will be good for the country." she let herself say and he was all of those things, but she didn't exactly know how she felt if he did become the Daimyo.

She had heard Tsunade talk of the Daimyos. Their lineage went generations back, back to the founding of the country. Though at some points the last name would change as a Daimyo could not produce a male heir and the femae heir would marry and the name would change but there was always the same blood running through all the Daimyo's veins.

Though it was strange in this situation how much Konoha was involved with the passing of the Daimyo title. Succession would always be done at the Daimyo's Estate or at the Fire Temple, but in this case it would be done in Konoha. It was also rare that the Hokage got such a large say in if Daisuke would become the Daimyo, they were usually informed but not required to give their consent.

This way of working with the succession was almost unheard of because it had happened only once in the history that she could remember and she had done a lot of studying on it. It was with the Wind Country. There was a war going on and when the Daimyo was too old to continue to lead he had to approach the Kazekage to get his son to be able to take over. But that had been many many years before.

"Are you alright Sakura-san?" she was brought out of her reverie and looked up at the man's worried face.

"Hai, of course, I was just thinking about things."

"I understand, if Daisuke does become Daimyo you will have more responsibilities and it is impertinent that an heir is on the way." she tried to hide her paling face by turning it into the sun.

"Of course." she replied meekly.

"An heir will be needed quickly and you will be welcomed into the role of motherhood. I am sure you will make a fine matriarch for Daisuke as well as a mother. He chose well, when he chose you to be taken as his wife. I don't think I could have made a finer choice. The heir will be a strong child." he stopped talking and placed a hand on her shoulder while she tried to digest what he had just said.

"I must take my leave Sakura-san, please write the letter so that I may take it to Lady Hokage tomorrow. I am sure she is anxious to hear from you. Good day." he told her before leaving her side.

All her mind could think about was a child, with Daisuke. That was all she wanted months ago when her life was simpler, but now there was Sasuke and she was sure he was willing to do anything to bed her. But did she now want a child with Daisuke or would the child just be a reminder of how she could have had her Uchiha.

She had to leave this spot. Getting up from the bench she made her way towards the library where she would write her letter to Tsunade-shishou. Pulling out a small scroll, ink and a pen she began to write.

_Tsunade-shishou,_

_It feels good to write to you. I hope things are going well in Konoha and that you are close to figuring everything out so that our nation and the others can return to peace. It has been stressful around here as well as we heard about the Mist and their plight. I hope that the Rebels have been held at bay._

_I write this letter to inform you of other dealings. I assume you have heard of Uchiha Sasuke's visit to the estate or rather his assassination mission to the estate. I know you might not be proud of me for writing about what I am to write to you concerning the Uchiha._

_I have been in contact with him while Daisuke has been in Konoha. We have talked about many things and I don't know if I should regret in telling you that I am re-falling in love with him. He has told me a truth about Konoha that I can't ignore. I implore you to seek him out and instead of violence and imprisonment let him tell you his story as he told me. I am sure there is more to it but there is a sincerity in him that I haven't seen in him since I was a genin. _

_I believe that Sasuke would like to return to the village yet there are people inside that are preventing him from coming back to his home. Though I feel he has gained a sense of security with being around and with me. I don't any of his plans or why exactly he is here around the Estate but I hope to find out more. He will be seeing me again very soon. _

_I would also like to write to about odd dealings here at the estate as well. I was walking past the Daimyo's office today and overheard him and a servant. While at first the conversation seemed harmless at first it didn't end up as harmless conversation and I believe that Konoha may be in danger from the inside. _

_There is a servant here named Jiro. He is supposed to meet with someone in a few days times and talk to a man about information. The Daimyo also gave him a scroll that the man is supposed to give his contact and that the information is about Konoha and how you are starting to figure things out. I know fear for the safety of Konoha as well. _

_I have heard of Daisuke's succession if that in the end happens and he does become Daimyo. The Daimyo was talking to me earlier today and I must admit that if Daisuke does take the role of Daimyo I am no longer sure if I would be able to fulfill all the ....duties that belong to the wife of a Daimyo. _

_I place my trust in you about this matter and hope that maybe you will have a letter for me when Daisuke returns from Konoha. I patiently await any note and or instructions. _

_Furusawa Sakura_

She stared at the scroll before her. It would be taking a risk to get this to Konoha but she had to try, and she knew if the Daimyo did open before reaching Konoha her life would be in danger from treason against the Daimyo to adultery, and interacting with an enemy of both Konoha and the Daimyo ,but for her sake and for Sasuke's sake she would be willing to take that risk.

Rolling it up she placed a seal over and looking around performed a small sealing jutsu on it. She would know if the Daimyo opened it up before Tsunade-sama did. The only thing that prevented her from putting a larger seal that would only let Tsunade read it, would be disastrous. The Daimyo would know she was trying to hide something if the scroll burst into the flames upon being unsealed, by any other than Tsunade.

She walked towards the Daimyo's office and gave the shoji door a knock and his voice called her in. sliding the door open she walked into the room and saw the man sitting at his desk transcribing something as well. He looked up and gave a nod welcoming. She quietly sat the scroll down on the desk letting him know it was her scroll to Lady Tsunade. He nodded and she exited the room. Now all that was left was it getting to Tsunade and she prayed that it would.

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**Hope that was good for you. things are starting to piece together a little and there was a certain name that should help you figure some things out. he was mentioned last chapter by the prisoner and in this chapter by Sakura.  
**

**_Next Chapter: Discussion of Daisuke's becoming the Daimyo and the final decision, Sakura's answer to Sasuke. Shikamaru's team locates the rebel and the informant, and what do they hear?_**

**Update: depends on the number of reviews i get**

**PLEASE DO THE POLL, I WOULD REALLY LOVE YOUR INPUT BECAUSE I WANT TO POST SOMETHING YOU WILL READ!!**

**yoyo  
**


	12. Chapter 11: A Selfish Decision

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**Here is another update for you to read. **

**thanks for all the reviews and only one person got who was starting to make another twist to the story so good job mistyfire's code is secure.**

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy **

warning: there is some material in here that some people may not want to read, i have lined it so you can skip past it if you wish

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**Chapter 11**

**A Selfish Decision  
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**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

* * *

The looming gates of Konoha soon appeared in the distance and the group settled in for the last little stretch of the journey. They had been traveling since early that morning right after dawn had welcomed the world. The procession had been slow due to the fact that there were several people and they didn't travel in the trees like the ninjas did.

The guards at the gate welcomed the procession into Konoha and notified them that the Hokage was waiting for them in the tower. The group nodded and were led by a Konoha shinobi to the tower to meet with Hokage. They walked up the outside stairs before entering into the beehive shaped building and walking towards the Hokage's office.

The shinobi guide knocked on the door receiving an enter from the loud woman within the walls of the room. The Daimyo as well as his counselors entered into the room. The blond busty Hokage stood to welcome the other nobles into the room. There were already seats for them so as soon as the Daimyo and his counselors sat so did the Hokage.

"I would like to discuss Daisuke's ascension before we talk with him and my Elders as well. Though I am aware that Daisuke is a very able man I am still uneasy about why you would wish for him to become the Daimyo right now." the man looked at her calmly before replying.

"I have acquired certain health problems as of recently and would like to see my son take over being the Daimyo. Besides I am getting older in age and I wish to enjoy the rest of my years in peace knowing that the country in in good hands with my son being the Daimyo." the older man told her.

She could understand why the man wanted his son to take over being the Daimyo, there was always something that seemed to burst when a child or someone close to you did something grand. She could remember it with Sakura. How she progressed so fast in her medical training and witnessing her become a full fledged medical ninja, it was an overwhelming feeling, so she did know how he felt about Daisuke becoming the Daimyo, it was a father's pride and honor to see their child achieve something like that.

She nodded her head in agreement and told them the following day they would gather into counsel with the Elders and him and his counselors. They would start discussion early in the afternoon and go into the evening if they had to. The Daimyo nodded in agreement and they left the office being guided to their lodgings by another Konoha shinobi.

When Daisuke heard his father had arrived and which quarters he was in, he immediately went to see his father. Tapping twice on the door he let himself in to see his father sitting in a chair overlooking Konoha. He walked over to his father and sat where the older man could see him clearly.

"Have you talked to Hokage-sama?" He rapidly asked.

"Hai, I did. We will be in counsel tomorrow starting in the early afternoon. By the day after we will know if you will become the next Daimyo in a few days." the man said it with pride as he looked at the younger version of himself.

"Does Sakura know. I didn't tell her about it."

"Hai, I told her about it and she seems to be thrilled about it." it was a partial lie but the man didn't care. "She is anxious for your return so that she can carry an heir." Daisuke's face became slightly brighter. "She seems like a very adept mother. It gives me pride to call her my daughter-in-law. The child you two will produce will be a great child and in time a great leader that will rule the Fire country with greatness and steadfastness. You should be proud my son." Daisuke nodded at his father's words.

The child they would produce would be an excellent child. While its father was great as a shinobi and a leader, its mother was a talented kunoichi that would bring great skills to the child as well, she was also very diplomatic and had a political side to her that rivaled his own. The child would be great and it would be theirs and the Uchiha would be pushed aside.

"It is late, we should rest, we have a long day tomorrow." The Daimyo told his son.

"Of course, night father." Daisuke said to the older man before going back to his own quarters, still thinking about the child that him and Sakura would have together.

* * *

**Fire Country **

**Border**

**Village Outskirts**

* * *

The four looked over the small town that lay in front of them. It was the third border town they had been to in the last few days and they were ready for this search to be over. All they wanted to was to find the men, get the inform, follow the one man, and go home.

"Sai, do some recon. from the air, see if anyone is coming." the pale skinned boy nodded before bringing out his ink and parchment and quickly drawing a bird he was soon in the air looking down at the trails that came into the town.

He went miles out to get a better view of who could be coming into the town and along one of the roads there was a lone traveler, going straight towards the town that the team was watching over. The man wore a cloak and traveled at a brisk pace that Sai could notice. This man was in a hurry and going straight towards where the Konoha shinobi were at.

Flying back towards where the rest of the team was he canceled the ink drawing and landed gracefully on an outstretched tree branch. The other three looked at him almost expectantly.

"There is a man about an hour or two away walking straight here. He wore a cloak and looked quite suspicious." Shikamaru looked at their surroundings. It was becoming dark.

"They like to meet at night. How many pubs are here?"

"Only one." Ino put in.

"Then that's where they'll meet. We'll have two on the inside and two on the outside." Shikamaru continued. "Sai and I will go in. Ino and Choji stay outside but keep a look out at the door at all times. Sai, you will try and sit near where the men are at to hear the information" The boy nodded. "And then I will also be in there at a farther distance to try and pick up details about them." Sai nodded again. "Then once he leaves the pub Ino watch where he goes and we'll follow him from their. Sai do you think you can have an animal follow the other man?"  
"I might be able to do it for a while but if something happens we won't have any information." the pale boy said.  
"That's fine, as long as we get the general direction. We can also contact Kakashi as soon we know the direction and maybe where he is going. That's the general now lets just wait and watch." the three nodded and kept a watch on the trails incoming to the town.

* * *

**Rain Country **

**Village**

**Inn**

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"We've been here for days and there is still nothing." Genma complained.

"You're only missing the ladies." Raidou snickered at him.

"That's not even the worse. It won't freaking stop raining. I hate the rain, I want, _need_ the sun. Do you hear me, I need sun! Light, for kami's sake make it stop raining."

"What if it was raining woman?" Raidou asked and it got his attention.

"That I could do." Genma stated.

"Too bad it won't happen." Raidou joked causing Genma to frown then turn to Kakashi.

"Come on Kakashi, how long are we going to be here?"

"Until we get some information and that probably won't be for a while." Kakashi told them nonchalantly while flipping a page in his book.

"Hey Kakashi do you think I could borrow that?" Genma asked. A grey eye looked at him.

"No." Genma sweat dropped.

"Relax, Shikamaru is going to tell us when the man is on the move. Don't worry. I'm guessing a few more days and then we'll be able to go home, no big deal. Happy Genma, then you can get your own Icha Icha or a woman for that matter." the other two snickered at Genma's ordeal.

"You are all sadists."

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**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

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The place seemed eerily quiet since it was only her that was actually living in the estate. Sure there were the servants but they made themselves rarely seen. It felt like a haunted house and she was the only living soul in it, but at the same time she was glad for the quiet the place provided. It let her think about the coming night.

It was the night that Sasuke was to return for her answer. Her husband or him and right now she was completely torn. There were several pros and cons to each person, but the real question was who was the one she completely loved without any reservations. But what would that mean for the one that didn't get chosen. She knew if she picked Sasuke that sooner or later she knew that he would take care of Daisuke in a permanent manner and that was what frightened her.

Yet Daisuke was the man that had first seen her as a woman. He had opened that side of her that she believed Sasuke could never open up, but after the kiss the other night she wasn't so sure. Daisuke had made her feel wonderful but at the same time it had taken a whole two weeks for him to actually come to terms that she wanted to have love made to her not him just taking as he pleased.

But with Sasuke, again, it was an entirely different story, they had never been intimate except the kiss that they shared. He had pushed her away when they were younger and seemed to ignore her for the most part. Though he had protected her and watched out for her on missions, that was just it, it was a mission that actually called for him to notice her. She was the one that sat in the hospital when he was sick or hurt, waiting for him wake up so she could be there for him.

She looked over the bridges rails to see the magnificent koi fish below her. She was fascinated with them. They were exotically colored which drew her to them, exotic things should be able to be together. She was exotic, as Daisuke had told her that many times with her petal pink hair and emerald gems for eyes.

But flattering words were not enough to make her be with a man. But what was, and that was what was causing Sakura to be so indecisive about what she should do for she knew that she would one or both of them in the end, there was no denying that fact. Someone would get hurt and in the end it would be all her fault.

* * *

**Fire Country **

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

**Counsel Room**

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There were seven people around the round table. Tsunade and the two Elders of Konoha Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane along with Danzo, since he insisted that he be included with the proceedings and Tsunade couldn't deny him that right since he was involved with the politics of Konoha and the Fire Country. Then there was the Daimyo and his two counselors that he brought along with him. The seven sat around the table with documents in from of several of them as they began to discuss the issue of Daisuke becoming the next Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

"This is an interesting request Daimyo-sama, I have never heard of it before in the Land of Fire before, to have the heir take over since you are in fair health and there is a war raging.." Homura stated.

"I have told Tsunade-sama the reasons for wanting to let Daisuke be the Daimyo at this time. I am aging and I have been having health problems. I want to serve this country and the best way right now is letting Daisuke become the Daimyo. He may be young but intelligent and well respected."

"I don't doubt that," Koharu stated, "but this is a delicate situation. There is war raging in all nations and at this time you request for your son to take the title and he doesn't even have an heir. Being the Daimyo puts him in a compromising situation. More likely to be assassinated than he is right now though he has already had an attempt. This isn't just about you, remember that." The Diamyo's jaw clenched and then he shot a quick glance to Danzo, this would be a long discussion.

Daisuke was out touring Konoha. He had to admit it was a spectacular village. There were shinobi everywhere but also the civilians that helped make this village run its everyday lifestyle. It was quite refreshing to see something prosperous instead of the wooden halls and shoji doors of the estate. He was sure Sakura would have loved to have been there with him but it wasn't in the cards for her to return to her birth place and though she minded greatly he really didn't mind at all.

If she could forget about this place, then their relationship might improve. With the appearance of the Uchiha she had been different. More recluse and in a state of unconsciously thinking about something or _someone_. He was find when she thought but when he knew those thoughts were on someone other than him and it was identifiably the Uchiha, he got angry.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Border**

**Village Pub**

**Night**

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They had seen the man approaching and started their mission. Ino was positioned across the street at a local inn looking out the inn window while Choji was on the same side just a little farther down at a tea house where he was currently drinking tea and eating dango.

Sai and Shikamaru were inside the pub, with Shikamaru at the bar pretending to get unearthly drunk while Sai sat at a lone table. The table was right in front of another table with a lone man sitting there as well. After about ten minutes of waiting a man in a cloak walked through the door and took the seat right behind Sais as he took a drink.

The man began fumbling through his pockets before he pulled out a scroll and set it on the table before he began to talk to the other man.

"There working on getting the boy placed. He's at the village right now discussing it with the others, but with his means of persuasion I am sure it won't be a problem. They don't have much to argue against."

"What about the girl?"

"She's been pretty quiet lately ever since the Uchiha failed a couple of weeks ago. She just sits out at looking at fish all day. She did tell the son about a relationship with her and the Uchiha, he was mad as hell, that's for sure, didn't want anything to do with her for days."

"Good, exactly what I wanted to hear, now what about that scroll?"

"This scroll was from him to you. His inside man at the village says they've been gathering information like crazy. The mist captured a rebel and they got a hold of him, apparently the boy can't keep his mouth shut for two seconds. Told them everything."

"Does he know about you?"

"Nah, don't think he does. I'm just a rat, I get the information at the estate."

"Good, I wouldn't want to leave a dead body behind." it was silent for a moment. "If that's all I'll meet you again in three weeks."

"Okay, sir." the chairs scraped as both men got up and exited the building at different times. Underneath Sai's table he drew a small bird and within seconds it was flying out an open window to follow the other man.

Five minutes after the men left so did Sai and Shikamaru. Turning on their mics they could hear Ino as she told them she would follow the man in the body of a bird that had just crossed her path. The three males gathered in the room where she left her body to take over the bird and sat and waited until Ino would return to her body which turned out to be an hour later.

She woke with a start and baby blue eyes blinked open. Gathering her bearings she looked at the males around her. Putting her palm to her forehead she tried to ease her headache by flowing a little medical chakra to quench the enormity of the headache.

"What did you find?" Shikamaru asked.

"He's heading south east on the same trail he came, though he's stopped for the night. Wherever he's going he won't make it there tonight. Do you want to follow?"

"No, we'll wait for about an hour and then head off, you need to rest." Shikamaru told her.

"Arigatou Shikamaru." She smiled at him before he turned to Sai.

"Where was the other man heading?"

"Deep into Rain. He was moving pretty quickly." Sai informed them.

"We'll see where this guy is going and then head back. You remember the information?"

"Hai, and I don't think Tsunade-sama is going to like it." He told them gravely and the mood went solemn.

* * *

**Fire Country **

**Daimyo's Estate**

**Night**

* * *

It had been one of those nights again where she had to seek comfort and relaxation in the lukewarm water. The water ran over her skin giving her a soothing sensation. She knew that Sasuke would be coming, but again she didn't know when and when she figured out that sleep would be utterly impossible she took to the washroom again.

Stepping out she again dried herself and slipped on her sleeping yukata and walked out into the room not caring that her hair was sopping wet and soaking her yukata. Her gaze flickered around the room to see if he was there but he wasn't. She sighed to herself and concluded he probably wasn't coming to see her, that was until she felt a warm breath on the back of her neck against her cool skin and hair.

Her body froze as she immediately recognized who it was that was behind her. Remaining stock still she waited for him to make the first move. They stood their her back to his chest as he evenly breathed warm breath across her skin almost scorching it and she released a shudder, no man had ever done this to her.

"Have you decided?" He asked in a calm, smooth voice. She didn't trust her voice and nodded. "Who?" it was dark and sensual making her want to cross that line so badly. She felt his hands grip her sides before effectively turning her around to face him.

Looking down at her face he could still the indecision she still held but there was also the certainty of who she wanted. He tipped her chin up so they were looking at each other, her up at him and him down at her.  
"Who?" he repeated and it practically sent her over the edge.

She knew that when she told him who and she guessed he already knew, lines would be crossed and right at this moment she would be damned if the moment passed by her. Gathering her courage she looked up at him with resolution in her eyes and whispered 'you'.

It was his invitation to immediately kiss her, ravager her mouth with his and that was exactly what he did. He roughly pushed her body against his as a hand came to secure her head while he kissed her almost ferociously and she responded without hesitation kissing him back with equal force. It was what she had always wanted, but she still fought it.

"Sasuke." she breathed when he released her lips.

"Hn?"

"We can't." he stopped moving.

"Why?" he practically barked at her.

"It's not right, no matter how I feel for you." his eyes bore into her soul.

"I don't care if its not right" he spoke "it's what we want." he pulled her closer wanting to take her lips again.

"It may be what we want, but I can't." his mouth twitched in irritation. It was supposed to be easy getting her to do this, she wasn't supposed to fight it.

"Be selfish Sakura." He told her, running his thumb over her lips. "For once in your life be selfish."

She looked at him and when he said those words it hit her hard. She had always tried to _not _be selfish. She had strived to help people, care for them instead of herself. Marrying Daisuke was because she was selfless and cared more about her country and home rather than herself. What he said was true, she should be selfish if only for this instance, though it wasn't right and wasn't ethical.

She knew what he was trying to do. Play a game with her so that she would go to bed with him and honestly if she wasn't so selfless it would be an easy choice. But she was selfless and that wouldn't change but right now there was an opportunity that she had waited for years for and he was right, for maybe this one instance she could be selfish, and give in to what she wanted.

She leaned closer to him and gently brushed her lips against his. For one time she would selfish and do what she really wanted. She whispered and okay in his ear before mouth sought hers again letting her enter into a world of selfishness, deceit, betrayal and an overpowering lust for each other. Her hands weaved in between his hair as he took what he wanted and unlike the first time she let him, without stopping him.

* * *

**Lime/lemon**

* * *

He walked her backwards to her bed where he proceeded to push her on her back with him on top mouths still fused together as he continued to ravage her mouth, to taste, to feel, to conquer, to want. Though she tried to fight with her tongue she lost to him as he completely dominated her mouth causing her to moan.

She could feel his hands run over her. Her front, sides, hips, legs, back, they were everywhere and she wanted them to be. She had been starved of this man and now she was getting her full. His hands came to the sash at her yukata and with a slight tug, the yukata was open and pushed off and stripped of her body and thrown across the room.

The cold air of the room hit her skin and she shivered causing goosebumps to appear all over her skin as she had nothing on underneath. He let his hands freely wander the now bare skin, memorizing her and drinking her in. His own lips left hers to devoutly attack her neck and collar bone with kisses and nips as he went along, enticing moans to come from her and when he heard them they were heavenly.

She tried to gasp in air but it was almost impossible, she felt as if her lungs were constricted because of his movements and in reality they were. She arched her back when he sucked harshly on a piece of bare skin near her pulse. One of her hands fisted into his raven locks while the other clawed his shoulder through the fabric of his shirt.

Her hands wrestled with his shirt as she tried to hang onto him but after a while it became a nuisance and she removed the shirt with help from him so she could inspect the vastness of his torso. His once pale skin was slightly tanned now and showed off his lean muscle as he hovered over her. Her hands ran up and down his back and sides, nails scraping every so often, wanting to feel him before they made quick work of his pants and he helped her remove them and his boxers.

Her back arched again as he began to put attentions towards her breasts. She could feel his hands kneading them while he continued to kiss her neck and collarbone before he moved his head downwards so he could give them even more attention. Her mind reeled when she felt him take one in his mouth, her fingers digging into the skin on his back, and he growled softly.

Before she knew it her hands were again entangled in his hair an arm around his neck as he ravaged her mouth and then her breasts. He lifted his head to look down at her. Sweat covered their bodies as they were pressed together and without warning to her he entered her filling her with him, making her let out a cry of pleasure. He could feel her chest heave heavier into his and he smirked once again attacking her neck while starting to move in and out of her, causing one of her legs to wrap around his narrow waist and the other to crook up.

He could feel her fingers dig into his hair and scalp as he increased his speed and she began to let out mewls of pleasure and moaned his name due to his treatments. He could feel himself coming to an end and he knew she was as well. She bucked her hips against his a time or two letting him let out another feral grown as he kissed her yet again.

Within another few moments they both came, him falling onto her slick body after he came inside of her. Though he was partially tired his hands still roamed her figure memorizing everything that he now claimed his. Rolling onto his side he brought Sakura with him hitching one of her legs around his hips as they laid there on their sides.

* * *

**Lime/lemon end**

* * *

He looked at her face. Her eyes were closed and her lips open letting out gasps of breath. With one hand he brought her even more flush against him, letting her know in his own way that she was his. His hand then tangled itself in her hair and brought her mouth to his again in another searing kiss, depriving her of oxygen. Releasing her mouth he only growled the words 'your mine' before letting her drift into a sleep for a few minutes before he would wake her up so they could start round two.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

**Counsel Room**

**Night**

* * *

The seven looked at each other, each giving a silent nod to let everyone know they agreed. All the people in the room seemed tired and worn but they had been talking about this since early afternoon and it was now late into the night. Tsunade signaled that Daisuke should be brought to them and within five minutes the doors were opened and the man stepped into the room.

"Daisuke," Tsunade began "we have gone through much deliberation over your father's request to let you become the Daimyo at this time. If we have decided that you will be the Daimyo, then there are certain responsibilities that you must do. One is an heir. It has been an issue with our debate, is that you have no heir. This concerns us greatly, also you are still a young man of only 22. A Daimyo of your age is rare and your inexperience is also a concern for us, however with both your fathers and his counselors recommendation and support, this council has come to decision." Daisuke stood there looking at each member for a moment before looking back at the Hokage.

"We have however decided that you will become the next Daimyo."

* * *

**How was that? was that good? so yes a few more little twists to add to the story. so how was the lemon/lime thing, it was my second one, so don't be too harsh on me. **

**_Next Chapter: Where does the man lead Shikamaru's team to, sasuke and sakura morning afterwards, Daisuke made daimyo, Tsunade reads sakura's letter, Daisuke get backs to the estate, another sasuke and sakura meet again and Tsunade gets drunk._  
**

**Update: I know you like this everyday updating but i won't update tomorrow as my brother is coming home and i haven't seen him in two years. but there should be an update tuesday afternoon depending on number of reviews.**

**_PLEASE DO THE POLL IF YOU HAVE NOT, I REALLY WANT TO KNOW, SO PLEASE PLEASE POLL!!_**

**please review, please please review. i love hearing what you think about the story. **

**yoyo  
**


	13. Chapter 12: The Unwanted

**Here's the update for today. my brother is home and i am adjusting to him being home as i have been an only child for 2 years so it is a little interesting right now.**

**Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and alerts, they mean a lot to me.**

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy the chapter!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**The Unwanted  
****

* * *

  
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* * *

**Fire Country**

**Traveling Roads**

* * *

They stayed a safe distance from the man they had seen last night as they followed him back to wherever the man was headed. When they had started following him last night they stopped and rested over his camp sight but had to remain alert throughout the night to make sure they he didn't try traveling in the middle of the night without them knowing, and it was a good thing because before the sun rose he was already traveling.

The man they could already tell was a shady man, when he stopped to rest he stayed away from the rest of the other occupants at the small tea houses and his hood remained forever over his face, as if he was scared that someone might recognize him but when he supposedly worked for a higher up in the Fire country he wanted that secrecy so he wouldn't get pinned for anything.

It was becoming mid morning when they finally saw a deviation in his path. He looked both ways on the path before cutting into the forests and walking deeper through them. They silently followed him making sure not to make any noise while they followed. They had to stop several times when he looked behind him and hid from view but as soon as he was walking again they continued to follow them.

It was nearing noon when he finally stepped out into a clearing and walked towards his final destination. The four watched him through the foliage and for a moment they couldn't believe that he was actually headed towards one place they never even thought that he would go to. They all looked at each other, uncertainty written on all of their faces, they needed to get back to Konoha as soon as possible.

* * *

**Fire Country **

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

**Morning**

* * *

He awoke refreshed and brimming with satisfaction. He would be the new Daimyo in a matter of days. The rituals were usually done at the Fire Temple but seeing as everyone that was needed in the ceremony was in Konoha, they would do it that morning and then he would hurry back to the estate to begin one of the issues that the Hokage had with him becoming Daimyo

She had been unsettled when the Daimyo had suggested they do the rituals as soon as possible but after some persuasion she relented and the ceremony would be done the next day. Dressing in dark ceremonial robes he headed towards the small temple that was inside Konoha but out of the way of the hustle and bustle of the main village.

When he arrived the Elders and counselors were already there along with the Hokage and his father. He could tell that the busty Hokage was drunk and right now he really didn't mind as long as he would become the Daimyo and she had already said yes to it. He stepped forward and stood next to his father and waited for the rituals to begin.

* * *

**Rain Country **

**Small Village**

**Inn**

* * *

Genma was grumbling again as he turned over in the small bed. They had been in Rain for about a week and still nothing. The rain was bugging him even more and all he wanted was to get out of the rain figuratively and literally at times. Kakashi sat against the wall near a window still reading his little orange book.

The door opened revealing Raidou and Kotetsu, who looked like they had news by the looks on their faces. Raidou went to Genma and shook him awake making the man fall off the bed as he was already close to the edge.

"What?" he snapped head coming back over the edge of the bed.

"News from Shikamaru's team." This got Kakashi's and Genma's attention.

"What about?" Kakashi asked.

"The man is heading here, he left last night and is on his way. That means he should be here in the next few days and then they said to hurry straight back, apparently the team overheard some pretty interesting things."

"Good, see Genma only a few more days and then we can go home." Kakashi's eyes crinkled in amusement.

"Thank Kami-sama." he praised.

* * *

**Fire Country **

**Daimyo's Estate**

**Morning**

* * *

The two lovers laid in the bed intertwined in each other as one slumbered while the other looked past their sleeping partner. Onyx eyes looked down at the pink head that was laying next to him. His arms were wrapped around her body as hers were nestled between their chests. He shifted slightly having her follow his movements.

They laid continued to lay there until a knocking on the door awoke her. It was one of the servants checking up on her and seeing if she needed anything. She just called back saying she was fine and that she only wanted to be left alone for the rest of the morning. The servant complied and they both heard the footsteps fade away from the door.

She shifted so she could tilt her her head up to see the Uchiha. She was still quite tired from the previous night seeing as how he was always ready to go for another round and being in the state of mind she was in had willingly complied. They continued to lay there in silence as both were lost in their own thoughts of everything.

"What do we do now?" she asked repositioning herself over the Uchiha, head settled on his bare chest.

"Keep it secret." he told her passively and she lightly laughed before returning to her somber mode.

"Sasuke, what are we going to do?" it was asked with more urgency.

"It will work out in time." he told her, a hand now rubbing her bare back while the other brushed its fingertips up and down her smooth arm that was half wrapped around his chest and neck.

"Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"I trust you." she kissed his chest lightly before the two fell silent again just relishing the time they had together, only if it was for a short while.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha **

**Hokage Tower**

* * *

Daisuke and his father stood before the blond Hokage as they finished talking, but before the two men left the room, the previous Daimyo pulled out a scroll from a pocket and went over to hand it to the Hokage.

"Sakura-san wrote it for you. She dearly missed Konoha and yourself." Tsunade thanked them before they took their leave along with the counselors and the shinobi guard they had brought.

As the two stepped out of the room Daisuke informed his father that he would be traveling faster and would travel ahead to reach Sakura sooner. His father nodded his head knowing exactly why the new Daimyo wanted to get back to the estate in a hurry. He watched as his son rushed out of the building followed only by a few shinobi to guard him on his way home.

Tsunade watched as both Daisuke and his father left the building before turning back to her desk and unraveling the scroll. As soon as she felt the small jutsu on the scroll she knew it was of importance and hurriedly opened it to read it. She read the first paragraph with little concern but as soon as she read the following paragraph she knew something was wrong.

As she read about the Uchiha her mood darkened. She was right all along, the Uchiha did go back to the estate for Sakura and she could only imagine what had gone on between the two while Daisuke was away for such a long period of time. She felt partly sad for her apprentice and condoned the actions that may have occurred but it was Sakura and she wouldn't act rashly.

The part however of the story the Uchiha told her, peaked her interest and how he wanted to return but was unable to do so because of something or maybe someone. But when Sakura asked her to seek out the Uchiha, that was impossible, he would only come if he wanted to come and dragging him back would not get the story out of him. He had to come on his own volition and she would have to wait. But the fact that the Uchiha was confiding in Sakura somewhat worried her, and yet at the same time pleased her.

Her mood darkened even further when she got into the second part of the letter where she overheard the Daimyo and his servant. The name 'Jiro' stuck out and for a moment she wondered if it was the same Jiro that the prisoner had told them about that was working for a higher up in the Fire Country, and then when Sakura wrote that there was someone from the inside of Konoha. Amber eyes darkened as she accepted the fact that someone was working within Konoha to provide information to the rebels.

She was sure that the man Jiro was the same one that the boy talked about and when Sakura told her that he was to meet with someone, it practically confirmed it. Groaning she let the scroll fall to the desk. The last part hit her as well and only confirmed her suspicions of what Sakura and the Uchiha had done, and Daisuke was now the Daimyo. She needed sake and she needed it badly and she would have to wait until Shikamaru's team returned to Konoha and relayed their information and she hoped it would be soon.

* * *

**Fire Country **

**Forests**

* * *

Shikamaru's team was headed straight towards Konoha and only had another hour or two at the pace they were setting jumping through the trees. They only stopped for a quick break before resuming their fast pace towards their destination only to come upon Daisuke and a few of his shinobi. The two teams stopped to look at each other for a moment before speaking.

"Shikamaru-san, is that you?" Daisuke asked.

"Hai, it is Daisuke-sama. What are you doing out here?"

"Returning from Konoha, there was something of importance that had to be taken care of and I am on my way back to the estate, did you need something?"

"No, we are just headed back from a mission."

"From the direction of the estate? What is going on?" Shikamaru looked at his team each giving him looks that held uncertainty.

"We believe that there may be someone working at the estate that is also working for the rebels."

"What?" Daisuke asked appalled at what he just heard. "I am sure that is not true, but I will look into it when I get the opportunity to do so." Shikamaru looked uncomfortable for a moment.

"We aren't positive, but we need to return to Konoha immediately. We will send word if anything else has been discovered."

"Of course." Daisuke nodded and saying their quick goodbyes the two groups parted ways as they continued on their set courses.

* * *

**Fire Country **

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

**Dusk**

* * *

The four jonin ran into Konoha just as dusk was settling in and they continued to run until they got all the way to the Hokage's office, instead of the usual knocking they just burst into the room making Tsunade choke on her sake that she was currently drinking. After a small coughing spat she turned to the four and with her eyes demanded to know what exactly they were doing just randomly bursting into her office.

Sitting back in her chair finally she looked over the team before proceeding. She saw how tired they looked, as if they had been running practically non-stop since earlier in the day and it was true. However they may have appeared tired and exhausted but there was an urgency in their faces that demanded her attention.  
"What did you find out?" Shikamaru looked towards Sai, as he was the one that was the closest to the man.

The pale man stepped forward and began telling the Hokage what the man had said at the meeting, including that they knew that Daisuke was trying to become the Daimyo, to knowing what Sakura was doing and how troublesome the Uchiha was being and then about the informant that was in Konoha and how they knew that Konoha was getting information and by what source as well.

"Where did the man go back too?" Tsunade asked biting her nail, already guessing where the man went back to.

"The Daimyo's Estate, Tsunade-sama." Shikamaru told her and her heart plummeted.

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

**Surrounding Forests**

* * *

He had left her bed around noon and it was a good thing he did as once he was settled back on the tree branch he saw a man enter into the estate but he also felt the chakra signatures of Konoha shinobi and if he was correct he knew those shinobi, but now the question was, why were they following th man? But before he had time to intercept them they were already gone and heading fast towards Konoha which meant the man was important or dangerous.

Soon his own mind began to correlate the two. The man he had spoken with knew of Sakura's miscarriage, and the only way for her to have possibly miscarried was if someone either knew the estate or worked in the estate and in this case it was worked in the estate. His blood began to boil slightly just thinking that a man the worked with the rebels worked in the estate that his now lover lived in.

He would have to watch the estate even more closely now, because he had abandoned his mission to the rebels and now his loyalty was to one person, and that person was the wife of a powerful man. He didn't particularly mind if somewhere in the ensuing battles if the man died because then he could have her all to himself, which is what he wanted anyways.

Before he had left she had told him to meet her in one of the meeting rooms later that night and now he had an excuse to go besides to just see her, he had to warn her of the dangers that were in the estate, namely being the man that had arrived at noon. He continued to sit in the tree watching and waiting for anything to happen and the next thing to happen after the man entered the Daimyo's Estate was the man he loathed come into view and straight into the estate at dusk.

His eyes bled red as he watched the man with several other shinobi make a beeline for the estate. He hated the urgency that was in the steps of the man that was married to his lover. But then he smirked, how would that man feel if he knew that his precious wife was having an affair with the man he wanted to kill? He leaned back against the tree just waiting for the night to come so he could see her again.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

* * *

She had gotten into the shower again after Sasuke had left, seeing as how the first shower hadn't really turned out to be a shower. Though she was quite satisfied with that area of her life at the moment she really needed a shower to wash all the evidence away that she had been unfaithful to her husband, but that wasn't really bothering her like she thought it would.

After the shower she took it upon herself she strip the large bed of the sheets and replace them not wanting anyone to tell that she had been having intercourse with someone other than her husband. After sufficiently re-making the bed she began to go out to the gardens where she would usually spend her days when she saw the Daimyo's servant, Jiro, heads towards Daisuke's office in the other building and thought nothing of it as it was her father-in-laws servant and he would naturally go into their offices.

It was nearing dusk and she had just finished a light dinner when she heard rushed footsteps in the building. Stepping out into the hall the saw Daisuke walking hurriedly towards hers. She could clearly see the excitement on his face as he came up to her and took her in his arms, her returning the gesture a little less enthusiastically. He pulled back slightly before he kissed her fully.

It surprised her at first, when he kissed her, it was nothing like Sasuke's kisses. Sasuke was demanding, overpowering and commanding, but she liked it. He was clearly dominant and made sure to that he let her know that she was his. But Daisuke's though fierce, it was like a cats compared the lion Sasukes was. Breaking the kiss he looked at her with that want in his eyes and she knew something had happened.

"Sakura," she looked up at him. "I have been made the Daimyo." he told her excitedly and her heart dropped. It was time to fulfill her duties as the new Daimyo's wife. He would want an heir and the only way to get that heir was to perform certain activities and she gave him a weak smile.

"Congratulations." she kissed him chastely, she was still married to him and she had to act like it.

"Lets celebrate then." he whispered in her ear huskily and she knew exactly what he meant and as soon as she heard it he began to lead her to their bedroom.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

**After Midnight**

* * *

He watched the estate for a moment before starting to head towards it to meet her in the designated room that she had told him. After all the times he had snuck in it was quite easy now and as soon as he was in the room he waited patiently for her to come and meet him, but she was taking longer than she said she would.

He gently leaned against the wooden wall of the room waiting for her to come to him, and within another half hour he heart the light pitter patter of her dainty feet and then the sliding of the shoji door of the room. He looked at her, she was in a sleeping yukata and she held it closed tightly. Her hair was also slightly disheveled from where he stood, and then it struck him. Daisuke was home, of course he would want to indulge in what was his, after not having it for so long.

He sighed and hung his head. Hearing her footsteps draw closer he raised his head as she was just about right in front of him. She twisted her hands before reaching one out to him hoping that he would take it and make her feel better. He did and quickly drew her in kissing her passionately and possessively.

"Sa..sasuke." she got out when he started to assault her neck. He murmured a hn before resuming his task. "Daisuke, became the Daimyo." she moaned lowly and his ministrations stopped. His head came up and his hand that was supporting her neck drew her head to him.

"When?"

"This morning." she whispered. "They want an heir." she whispered eyes not looking at him but he just looked at her something akin to sadness in his eyes, before he pulled her close, just holding her as he had done that very morning.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha **

**Hokage Tower**

* * *

The bottle swung back and forth the hand that held the swinging bottle was attached to the neck of the bottle. If it had been a live person, she might have strangled them. This was her fifth bottle that night and she was almost positive she wouldn't be stopping anytime soon. It was just another lapse of insanity and she needed the liquor to help her bring back her sanity.

The news she had been told was not what she wanted to hear, yet at the same time she expected to hear it. It was how it was supposed to be, but when everything started fitting together it made her angry and thus lapse into a time of being comforted by the sake. It annoyed her to great lengths that some of the pieces to the puzzle hadn't been figured out earlier.

They couldn't have guessed that the leaders met in Rain and that was where the prisoner had come in handy but with all the dealings in the Fire Country. How the son was looking to get assassinated instead of the actual Daimyo, it made her think that maybe the past Daimyo had been in cohorts with the rebels. It added up, it really did. How the rebels knew things about the Fire Country and Konoha that she knew would never get out unless someone told them and then there was the fox that she needed to smoke out.

Everything was adding up and making her ever growing headache even larger. Feeling stupid she swallowed another swig of the sake. If dogs were mans best friend, she knew that sake was a females best friend as she took yet another large swig followed by a loud gulp as it went down. She knew in the morning she had to write to Sakura about the information that she had been gathering and to tell her to watch her back, because right now she felt her apprentice was in grave trouble and being in cahoots with the Uchiha only made it worse.

The only thing that would make this situation worse would be if the new Daimyo, Daisuke, found out about his father's treason to the Fire Country, though they couldn't pin him just yet and then the fact that his wife was sleeping with another man, namely being the Uchiha the man that he wanted to personally kill himself. Groaning she decided things really couldn't get any worse than they already were.

Dropping her head to the desk she again groaned in frustration. Things were too damn complicated and she hated it. But for right now she had to go with the flow. She needed to remain calm and controlled and she would get through everything in an organized way and they would stop the rebels and the last Daimyo and take care of the Uchiha, whatever he was doing now. Things would be alright and for now they were because she had her sake.

* * *

**A little shorter I know but hopefully it was still good. so things are starting to get interesting, i like it. **

**_Next Chapter: another sasuke sakura moment, Daisuke transitioning to be the Daimyo, a secret conversation overheard by someone and the consequences of it, Tsunade figuring out the inside informant in Konoha._**

**Update: My brother is home and he is starting to like the computer a little but i have up to chapter 15 done and will begin working on 16 tonight. so update either tomorrow or thursday, depends on how far i get into chapter 16 tonight and tomorrow morning.**

**_PLEASE POLL, IT ONLY TAKES A MINUTE OR LESS AND IT IS IMPORTANT. SO PLEASE POLL._**

** now you have the opportunity to review. so please review, they motivate me to write so please please review!!!!:)**

**yoyo  
**


	14. Chapter 13: To Trust the Devil

**Another update for you all. **

**Thanks for the reviews and favs, and alerts**

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy**

Warning: character deaths, not to bad though.

* * *

**Chapter 13**

**To Trust the Devil  
**

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* * *

  
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* * *

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

**Night  
**

* * *

The moon's light filtered into the meeting room as the two lay there in a heap of clothes and bodies as the male continued to kiss the female. A low mewl was heard before a light fit of laughter. A deep growl was heard and then a low moan. A few quiet words were spoken between the two as they lay on the clothes on the floor.

"Sasuke." she mumbled her back on the floor cushioned by her sleeping yukata and his own haori. Her arms encircled the raven above her.

"Hn." he muttered kissing her body as he delighted in it and her reaction to him.

"We probably shouldn't have done that." she murmured running her fingers through his still damp hair.

"Too late." he growled kissing her lips again and she gladly accepted the kiss, before she rolled over to be on top of him.

"I should be getting back to my bed." she murmured in his ear pressing a soft kiss to his neck and then down his neck and chest. For a moment he tensed before relaxing.

He knew better than to have taken her, but at the moment only minutes ago it seemed like a good idea and so he had done it. She had looked broken and he was going to fix her in any way possible. He didn't want to let her out of his arms, but if they didn't want to draw suspicion then he would have to let her leave.

"Then you better get off." He growled at her when she got a little too low for his liking before she kissed her way back up his chest. He tensed slightly when she felt him nip at the base of his neck, before she pushed herself off of him and rolled to his side so he could get up. After pulling on his boxers and pants he helped her up and helped her into her yukata.

Grabbing his shirt he threw it over his shoulder not wanting to wear it just yet. He grabbed her neck and pulled her in for another bruising kiss, a goodbye of sorts before he left her again and watched her from the outside of the estate. Letting her go she gave him a small smile as she opened the shoji door and disappearing down the hallway and back through the courtyard and back to her room where Daisuke was asleep. She opened and closed the door quietly before she heard his voice.

"Where have you been?" he asked half-sitting up in the bed.

"Kitchen, I was thirsty and a little hungry." she covered up the truth and slipping back into the bed, after sliding her yukata off.

He pulled her to him and for a moment she tensed before relaxing. Truth be told she enjoyed Sasuke's embrace far more than she did Daisukes but now she had to grin and bear it because it was how it was supposed to be. She should be craving her husband's touch more than an enemy's touch, because that was what Sasuke was, he was an enemy to her husband and she had to accept that until they could be united without these interferences.

She laid in bed as he again felt invigorated to try again for an heir in the only way possible, but all the while she only thought about the raven haired man that had again taken her heart and was keeping it all to himself. She half felt disgusted with herself for sleeping with two men in one night, but she pushed the thoughts aside and let her mind wander.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

**Morning**

* * *

She was basically at a standstill of what to do. The situation was getting even more and more complicated, each time she heard new information. Though she realized the previous Daimyo could be helping to sabotage everything, she decided to wait until Kakashi's team got back with information about the leaders and then she would move forward with everything but until then she had to be patient.

The only other concern she had was for Sakura. She was living right in the midst of their enemies. There was at least one person on that estate that worked for the rebels and if she was correct, it was two and one of them was still a very powerful person in the Fire Country, but she would deal with them later right now she needed to find that fox that was sneaking out inform.

The person had to have access to the interrogation unit so that the person could actually find out about the prisoner and the information he was giving. Also they had to have connections to a way to correspond with someone outside the village. The birds would be the easiest, but the person would have to have access again. Since the bird incident at the Daimyo's she had made sure only authorized shinobi were allowed in that room and the messages that were being sent were quickly looked over, just to make sure.

"Shizune!" she yelled for her assistant and in seconds the door was bursting open with the black haired woman stumbling in.

"Hai Tsunade-sama?"

"Bring me all the files of shinobi who have access to interrogation and the bird area." She ordered.

"Hai." she left the pig tonton at her feet.

Within a half hour all the files that she requested were in front of her and instead of her usual leafing through the files' content she read through everything, trying to find something that might point to one of the shinobi and kunoichi that she was looking at. The only downfall was that there was nothing pointing to a single one of them. Her only thought was that she needed some sake, though she had depleted her entire storage the night before.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Village**

**Shop**

* * *

It was Genma's turn to be on watch duty for the man that was supposed to be arriving here, but he had to admit that the town was utterly boring and it was obvious why criminals met here to discuss things, because no one really cared that there were criminals plotting to destroy the nations here in this sickly little town of theirs.

He roamed around the streets, tried to flirt with local ladies only to meet some burly men if he got too close to one of them. He tched as he walked away, the men here were also jealous of their women giving him no entertainment at all unless you call the other men that didn't take the hint get beat to a bloody pulp entertainment, because he sure didn't.

It disgusted him that one of the countries would have such a town. He had never seen a town quite like this in all his missions as a shinobi and he had seen some pretty shady places but this one was the cherry on top of it all. Purchasing some dango from a nice looking establishment he turned around to see a man walking into the town. He slowly at one of the dangos as he watched the man.

The man had a dark cloak on shielding him and his face from view. His stature had to have been above six foot and he looked like a man you didn't want to mess with. Genma determined that this was probably the man they had been waiting for to arrive. He watched the man walk past him and then towards an inn. The man looked both directions before entering and that was Genma's cue to tell the others that the target was there.

Making sure as not to arouse suspicion he made his way back to the inn that the team was staying in for their mission. Once inside he hurried up the stairs and rapped loudly on the door to let him in. the door was opened enough for him to get in before it was closed. The three other occupants in the room looked at him with interest. Taking the dango stick out of his mouth he let them know that their target was in the town.

The team looked at each other before Kakashi spoke laying out the plan for that night. They had already pin pointed the bar that the men would meet at so now it was just how to get in and out with the knowledge without the men stopping them. It was decided that Genma and Raidou would be in the pub and Kotetsu would go in. Kakashi decided he would stay outside to see where the men went after their discussion and his hair was silver enough it would be instantly recognized.

With the plan laid out the men began to run it over in their minds, telling each other different scenarios of what could go wrong and how they should take care of the situation if the scenario went bad. They decided it would be too risky to try and actually capture one of the leaders and even if they did it would incite the others to beyond measure. The information was all they needed and to get out of there with their lives. They were dealing with powerful rogue ninja and they knew they could not underestimate them or things would turn sour really quickly. The men stayed stationary until the time to start their mission approached.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

**Morning  
**

* * *

He had left Sakura in the bed asleep as he began to mull about the estate starting his duties as the Daimyo at the estate. They were documents that had to be transferred from his father's office to his and so forth. He also had to look over the reports of the shinobi on the estate. He sighed wearily wishing he could still be back in bed with Sakura.

She had seemed different after she had gotten back from her little break the night before. She had still been responsive to his ministrations but there had been something missing from her. The excitement she had held before she had left hadn't been there and when she got back she had said she had gone to the kitchen for food and drink but yet in her eyes it told him something different, like she was ashamed of something.

He knew that worrying over it would just cause them both more stress, so he pushed it out of his mind so that he wouldn't have the distraction of something being wrong with her weighing down everything else he did. He didn't want to have whatever might be making her uneasy on his mind, it would neither of them good right now as they were trying for an heir.

Entering his own office he began to move things around from the shelves and making room for the other things to come and be set upon them. He knew that being the Daimyo was a great responsibility but he was willing to do it and he would do it to the best of his ability. He wouldn't let the Fire Country down. He was willing to sacrifice his life for the country and he would do so if it ever came to that.

His father had been a great example to him as well as a leader. He saw his father treat the people fairly and kindly but at times with a firm hand. He wanted to be as great as his father had been and he was sure that with Sakura with him that he could be a great Daimyo to the people of the Fire Country. They respected her as well and nothing was as unbeatable as two people who placed their Country before their own lives.

Finishing making the arrangements to get the other necessary things into the room he began to walk towards where his father's office. As he got closer he began to hear the hushed voices inside the room. He began to soften his footsteps as he neared the room. The voices continued to converse with one another as he continued to softly approach.

Reaching the room he put his ear to the light shoji door and he could clearly hear the conversation going on between the two men. One voice was definitely his fathers and the other he was sure the man that was his father's close friend and runner. He could see the faint outlines of the men through the shoji door but he moved his body away so his shadow wouldn't fall into the door and they would know he was there, but he could still hear them clearly.

"Konoha still hasn't figured out what is going on." his father's voice spoke.

"Kenji, was worried that he might be found out if they were already starting to figure things out. I'm sure the man doesn't want to die a traitor's death." the other man spoke

"He is perfectly safe in the position he is in. Not even the Hokage would touch him, he's to well respected to just get pinned with the blame. Some of the people might rise against her and she doesn't want that."

"What about the scroll that Sakura-san sent? Did you read it?"

"No. There was a small sealing jutsu over it, though I think she is starting to become as troublesome as well. Things were supposed to go according to plan last time. I had to speed the process up because of some mishaps that you happened to let happen. That was stupid of you. By the way how was she when we were gone?"

"She stayed in her quarters until late morning when I arrived back. The servants said she spent a lot of time in her room or the gazebo like usual. I think something happened."

"Hai, that is a lot of time in her room when nobody is around except servants. Did Kenji say anything about the other problem we have running around?"

"He said not to worry and that he wouldn't betray them. Apparently Ichiro-sama said not to worry about him, that his rage was unparalleled for the time being, I think he suspects it has to do with Sakura-san. I overheard her and Daisuke-sama talking a while back, she had been infatuated with the Uchiha when she was younger and might still retain those feelings for him."

"I have heard that his anger is unparalleled, especially when it has to do with loved ones. He took great risks to kill his older brother after the boy killed the entire clan. If the girl is special to him, he wouldn't be happy since he know she is married to Daisuke. Do keep an eye on her though."

Daisuke's eyes widened slightly. This conversation was clearly meant to be a private conversation between these two men and one of them was his father and he sounded like he knew a lot about the issues at hand. It didn't make any sense. Deciding to investigate this later he would come back later that night to investigate the room to find out what exactly what the two were talking about.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha **

**Hokage Tower**

* * *

Papers flew through the air as Shizune tried to gather them back up again. Her mentor was getting quite frustrated with her search as it was appearing to be quite fruitless. Black eyes watched as the woman downed another bottle of sake. She was usually against the woman drinking so much but the woman was mad enough that if she tried to stop her she would probably get some heavy wrath.

Amber eyes looked mercilessly down at the papers below her. It was getting her no where. None of the files she had led to any indication of betrayal or helping with the rebels. It making her go mad with worry. She _needed_ to find out who was helping the rebels out from inside Konoha. Thinking again she guessed it could have been a regular shinobi, but not many knew about the prisoner.

Cursing she bit her lip and then her thumb nail trying to figure out who it could possibly be. She racked her brain trying to think about it and she guessed all the sake she had been drinking wasn't helping her out much either. She could also feel the gaze of Shizune on her as she tried to figure this out. Pushing the files and folders away from her she turned the chair to look out over Konoha.

All of her shinobi were dedicated to her and to Konoha. None would deliberately try to ruin Konoha, the Uchiha was an exception and she knew he wouldn't come back here not after what Sakura had told her in her letter. So pushing the Uchiha aside she again began to think about the people who could _possibly_ try to help the downfall of Konoha, and then it came to her.

"He's a dead man." She growled swinging her chair around and getting out of it, she stalked out of the room to find some ANBU and then the fox or rather....rat.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

**Night**

* * *

He had left Sakura asleep in the bed again as he walked towards his father's office, that he overheard the conversation earlier in. The conversation had been bugging him all day. What they had said made him uneasy and he knew he had to know just what was going on and what his father and his friend were up to. His hand held a candle on its holder as he made his way across the courtyard and into the other building.

Coming to the end of his trip he quietly slid open the shoji door that led into the room. Walking towards the desk that was directly in front of the door he set the candle down on the desk for a moment as he walked around before drawing it closer to him as he read through some of the documents already on the desk.

After getting nowhere with the documents on the desk he began to quietly slide the drawers open to see if there was anything suspicious in them. He rummaged through scrolls and documents trying to find something, _anything_, to try and find out what exactly they had been talking about earlier. After finding nothing the the drawers he started to search the bookshelves that were behind the large desk.

He pulled an occasional book out before putting it back in. pulling out one book he saw something close to a parchment colored paper where the book had been. Pulling out several other books he began to see more of the color and realized there were parchment papers hidden back behind the books. Beginning to stack the books he quickly began to pull out the pieces of parchment that had been stuffed back there.

Taking the papers he took them and sat in the chair at the desk before going through them. They were letters of correspondence between his father and another man names Kenji and Ichiro. There was information scribbled all over the pages, small drawings of maps and countries, dates, numbers, names of people and places, directions, everything was on the pieces of paper.

His breathing became heavier as he realized just what he was looking at. His mind reeled as he took in the information before him. It was astounding at all the research and information on theses pieces of parchment and he suddenly came to the realization that his father was aiding the rebels. Looking down at his hands he began to see them shake.

Everything was fitting together. The numerous meetings his father went too, the reason why his room was always off limits to anyone and everyone, why no one ever really went in their, his urgency to blame Konoha, the slight resistance he had seen in his father when the idea of arranged marriage to stop the civil war came up, how someone could get to Sakura to hurt her, to get to him. It was all painfully real to him. Pushing back the chair he stuffed several of the parchment papers into the shirt he had decided to wear.

Quickly yet still silently he made his way to the door, with the candle guiding him, but before he could fully get there the door slid open and there stood his father and the man that had been with him earlier. His eyes widened before narrowing and then going back to normal.

"Daisuke, what are you doing here?" his father asked him.

"Nothing father, I couldn't sleep, I thought I could look at several books."

"That could have waited until morning."

"Of course father." he made a move to push past the men but was stopped when a hand landed on his chest where the papers were.

"Where are you going Daisuke?"

"Back to Sakura."

"Why in such a rush. You have nothing to hide or be ashamed of. Let's talk." his father's voice told him that his father knew what was beneath his shirt.

"I'm tired."

"That's not what you said a little bit ago." and he was pushed back into the room. "Now lets talk about what you know." the man behind his father came into the room as well. Daisuke noticed something in his hand, a syringe by the looks of it. His eyes darted back to his father.

"Give me the papers." his father ordered.

"No. You have deceived both Konoha and myself, I will let them know of it."

"I have only helped the right cause, Daisuke. I want peace for this pitiful nation and world." his father told him.

"Peace? What peace comes with the destruction and death they've caused. I can only assume that you helped in killing, Sakura's child, _my_ child, _your_ grandchild." Daisuke sneered.

"It had to be done, just as silencing her now had to be done." the older man said nonchalantly.

"What do you mean?" Daisuke asked appalled and the syringe in the other man's hand rose. "Kami, you didn't." he breathed.

"Sacrifice, Daisuke, that's what it's all about. You want to turn against me and you have the proof, but I won't let you. You would have been an exceptional Daimyo, if you hadn't of found out. Your wife might still be alive and not slipping into death as we speak. The child was an unfortunate incident it just came at the wrong time. But you found out and sacrifices must be made so that no one knows the truth and your sacrifice is your life." the older man spoke.

Daisuke stared at the man he once called father and a great leader. He had placed everyone special to him in danger because his curiosity got the better of him. Everything he held precious might still be alive and nothing would be wrong except a raging war between what seemed to be the ideal and the tainted. But he wouldn't die and let them get away with it. If he would die he would take them down as well.

Making a move he tried to run past the two men only to be knocked on the head by the man behind his father sending the candle out of his grip and to the wood flooring near the shoji door.

"You idiot!" his father's voice called. "The candle." he watched from the ground as the candle fell over to the side right next to the shoji door and the wood that was beside it and then the flames ensued and he closed his eyes smelling the fire and burnt wood as the room was set on fire and knowing that there would be no more life for him as the crackling of the fire became louder and the smoke more apparent in smell as the fire quickly began engulfing the estate.

* * *

**how was that for you? I kind of liked it. hope that wasn't too big of a shocker and who is the rat inside of Konoha. one person already knows. **

**_Next Chapter: Kakashi's team in Rain, the rebel leaders appear. Sasuke and his reaction to the fire, and what happened to Sakura. tsunade finding the rat, Kakashi's team returning from rain and they find the estate, and guess who goes back to Konoha?_**

**Update: Tomorrow or Friday, depends on how far i can get into chapter 17 but i think probably friday unless i feel extremely nice to give to you tomorrow**

**_PLEASE PLEASE POLL. I NEED OR RATHER WANT TO KNOW, SO PLEASE POLL. ONLY TAKES A FEW SECONDS._**

**review, time, please drop one off. :)**

**yoyo  
**


	15. Chapter 14: The Unexpected

**The next update is here. **

**Thanks for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites. **

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy the chapter!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

**The Unexpected  
**

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* * *

  
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* * *

**Rain Country**

**Small Village**

**Village Pub**

**Midnight**

* * *

The two men that needed to be in the pub were in place as Kakashi kept a look out from across the street of the pub and in direct view of the inn that the man would appear from. Kotetsu was patiently in his hiding area and ready to enter into the pub when he needed to. Genma and Raidou were already in place both sitting at a small table near the back already taking drinks.

Kakashi's eye narrowed as he saw the man leave the inn and head straight towards the pub. Over the mics Kakashi let them know that their target was on the way to the pub. Genma and Raidou nodded to each other and quickly Genma looked over Raidou's shoulder to see two men already seated at the far back table, cloaked and drinking sake.

The door of the pub suddenly opened and like usual all the occupants looked to see who it was, but the regulars just returned to drinking their own drink as the man walked past everyone to the back of the pub and sat down across from the other two men. Raidou reached up to his ear subtly to switch it on and began to listen to the conversation that the men were having.

The team of four had arrived earlier and had placed a small bug on the farthest back corner table, knowing that it was there that the men sat at. Raidou had the mic that connected to the bug. He leaned closer to Genma, looking as if they were in a private conversation when in actuality they were listening to the conversation at the back table. The mic. crackled slightly but the conversation could still be hear.

"What's the news?" a bored voice said.

"His son is taking over, which means he'll have a little more time to get the information we need from around the country, but Konoha is starting to get their needed information. Apparently they caught someone. The boys been leaking information like a waterfall." the authoritative one said

"Will the old man be meeting with us more often now?" The young voice asked.

"No, he's not the useful to us while he's traveling here, let him stay where he is and we have more of an opportunity." a voice filled with mostly boredom with a little interest. "He can also watch over that Konoha girl to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."

"What about the other informant in Fire?" the young one asked and one of the men withdrew a scroll from his cloak.

"He's been sending us valuable information, especially now that Konoha knows things. We just to have to worry if anything happens to him, but for now he is safe." the authoritative one spoke.

"What's our next move?" The bored on asked.

"I will stay here in Rain and work on taking over Amegakure, while you two head towards Grass and Waterfall. Both are relatively small countries and villages. You should have no problems. The Sound nation is ours anyways so after them focus on Cloud. Then we'll take on the larger countries and villages. Fire Country will go first since we will have them surrounded. I am guessing a month before we can attack the Fire Country, so be ready to do it." the voice got cold at the end and the other two men across from him nodded. "Good, I will see you later."

The man picked himself up out of the chair and grabbed the scroll laying on the table before moving away from the men and walking past Genma and Raidou. Genma let Kakashi know that the man was coming out. Kotetsu having arrived at the bar while the man walked out nodded his head letting Genma and Raidou know the mission was almost over. Now the getaway.

Genma and Raidou finished their drinks before getting up and leaving the table and pub leaving, the two other men to just sit there. Though they could still be talking they had the information they needed. They exited the pub and looked in the direction Kakashi was located at. They got the signal to head back to the inn and they did.

Within twenty minutes all four were back in the room sitting around the furniture that was in the room. Everyone looked at one another knowing that whatever information was give it wasn't good. Genma and Raidou looked at each other before they began to tell Kakashi and Kotetsu was was said. After the words were said Kotetsu drew a small scroll from his vest and set it on the table. They had the information and the scroll from Konoha. They needed to get back to Konoha, as quickly as possible.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

**Surrounding Forest**

**Night**

* * *

He had lazily watched the estate for most of the day and night just sitting in his tree. After the night with Sakura he couldn't sleep. He knew as soon as she went back to that man's bed she would do what they had done again and he figured that they would keep doing it until she got pregnant that's the way it would go at night for her, so when he started to see the lazy gray smoke start to ascend his interest was peaked.

It was only peaked until the evident flames were visible. His body lurched forward at seeing the smoke and fire on the estate and his thoughts went to Sakura's safety. It was a good five minutes before there were shouts of fire and the noise that came with trying to extinguish the fiery abyss and something inside of him told him that something had gone on from where the fire had started.

If the fire had started near the kitchens it would have made sense but when the fire first exposed itself near the meeting room that him and Sakura had spent a few minutes in, it didn't make sense. Analyzing the situation for a few minutes he decided to take action. He had to at least save Sakura from the fire since it seemed as if no one on the estate was worrying about the occupants.

Jumping down from the tree he ran towards the estates walls and not bothering to be as stealthy as before since the smoke covered him he bolted right through the front gates. He went around the men in the estate when he had too but in amongst all the people running and milling about he didn't seem out of place.

Opening the shoji door to the building where the rooms were located at he could already feel the dense smoke filling his lungs and making his eyes water. He searched for Sakura's chakra but when he felt it, it was faint and fluctuating. He moved around to get to her room and finding the door he tried to push it open but it was locked. After making quick work of the door, by knocking it down he entered into the room.

She was still asleep on the bed, though from her position he could tell something was wrong. A sleeve of her sleeping yukata was pushed higher up on her arm than sleeping would push it up and even from a distance and the smoke filled room he could see her erratic breathing pattern. Making his way towards her he could start to make out the sweat that adorned her face and body. Looking at the arm with the sleeve pushed up he could faintly see the area where something was injected into her.

Placing his index and middle finger against the pulse in her neck he began to feel for a pulse and he frowned at the speed of her pulse. Looking around to make sure they were alone he threw her covers off of her and picked her body up holding her bridal style as he walked out of the room, through the rest of the fire on the estate and around the men trying to get it out and out towards his own area where he had been staying.

Placing her down on the ground and having her back supported by the trunk of a tree he could still hear the cries and the crackling of the flames from the estate. Searching for a rag he finally found and damping it with water from his canteen he began to wipe away her sweat from her face only for it to come right back.

Frowning he looked at the injection site. It was growing red and seemed to have a rash forming around it. His head shot back to her face when she let out a cough and his eyes froze on the tiny crimson spot that now adorned her cream colored yukata right below her collar on the material. He inwardly cursed and knew she needed immediate medical attention and the closest place with the best chance of survival for her was Konoha.

Resisting the urge to groan he quickly began to gather some if his own things before he again picked his lover up and started to hurriedly make his way towards Konoha, a place he wasn't really looking forward to going back now that he knew the truth about the Elders, but it was for her and he would do it.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

* * *

After storming out of her room she called for several ANBU and immediately they were beside her following her to wherever she was going. Shizune was behind her and ANBU as she stalked towards a building. Entering it she descended several stairways before throwing the door of the room open. The occupant looked up calmly at her for a moment before the face grew cold.

"Tsunade-hime, what do you need." the man asked and the Godaime's face grew angrier.

"Don't act stupid with me Danzo. I figured it out, your little plan with helping the rebels. As Hokage I place you under arrest." the ANBU around her at first were slightly paralyzed at what she said but they followed her orders and had the man stand up so they could place the man under arrest and subdue him. One of the ANBU took out a small syringe and quickly inserted the needle and the liquid into the man.

The ANBU felt the man begin to relax and soften in their grasp before they took him away from the room before she began to rummage around the room trying to find anything she could. And the information was there, in drawers, folders, books. It was there. Information about the rebels, correspondence dates, names, numbers, it was there.

She placed all the information on the desk. After looking through everything her and Shizune began to carry the evidence back to her own office. They both placed the evidence on her own desk before she began to go through it. There were small drawn maps, names of villages and people that they were associated with, there were journals of information about meetings and attack plans.

She sighed heavily and pushed the information away from her. It was all too much. For two years there had been an informant in Konoha and she was stupid enough to think that there wasn't and worse it was someone who had access to everything. She knew that Danzo was never pleased to know that she was the Hokage but to go as far as helping the enemy try to take down Konoha was absurd.

Groaning she picked up the bottle of sake she had standing on the corner of her desk. Taking a large drink of it she sighed contentedly afterwards, she always knew sake would make everything better but the thought was lost when she was told by Shizune she was needed at the hospital immediately. She let a frustrated little scream and threw the bottle at the wall. She didn't need this.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Front Gates**

* * *

When he had seen the looming gates in the distance he had stopped for a brief second, trying to grasp that he was actually, of his own free will, going to Konoha and go inside those walls. He continued to walk slowly towards them as he remembered everything that had happened inside of those walls. There were many pleasant memories but also the painful ones as well. He thought about taking it slow for the rest of the way to prepare himself but another cough from his precious cargo made him realize he didn't have time to waste, because she was fading from this life.

He recognized one of the guards at the gate, it was Izumo, but he didn't see Kotetsu, his usual partner. Izumo looked stunned at seeing the Uchiha walking with someone in his arms. He watched as the Uchiha waltzed into the village without even blinking an eyelash. Within five steps Sasuke had four ANBU around him and he stopped in his march.

"Uchiha Sasuke." One spoke to him but before the man could speak again Sasuke spoke first.

"I need to get her to the hospital." He spoke without emotion. The ANBU moved closer to the man and the person he was carrying. The ANBU nodded and the four led him and the person he was carrying to the hospital.

He could feel the stares of the people as they watched him and ANBU walk through the town to reach the hospital. The whispers were growing louder but he didn't pay attention to them. He continued to walk making sure Sakura was still with him. The ANBU moved away the more curious as they walked and once they made it to the hospital, Shizune was at the front and instantly knowing who it was took Sakura from him and went to get Tsunade after Sakura was placed in a room.

The ANBU stayed with the Uchiha in the hospital until Tsunade came down to the hospital. She took one glance at him before she moved into the room Sakura was in and then the only thing being heard was her yelling out orders to the nurses and for the next hour nurses were going in and out of the room, with Tsunade still giving out orders.

When the hour was over and Tsunade finally emerged from the room she took another look at the Uchiha and sighed, leaning against the wall with her shoulder. He looked at her, his eyes asking her the question of if she was going to be alright and seeing the question she nodded, an answer to his question. He got up out of the seat he had been in and walked past the Hokage to look in the room.

She was lying on the white bed with IV's in her arms. Her face was a chalky white and she had a breathing mask to help her breath, the masking fogging for a second before it became clear again, repeating itself over and over again. He was about to take a step into the room when a hand caught his shoulder.

"Not yet, Uchiha. We need to have a talk." The Hokage told him and he willingly complied.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Forests**

* * *

The four stood flush up against the trees. They were all trying to control their breathing as they looked behind them to make sure their pursuers were no longer pursuing them. They had been about an hour away from the small village when they had realized they were being followed by missing nin. They could only guess that someone from the conversation knew that they were there and they had gotten the information they needed.

"Do you still sense them?" Genma asked.

"No. It seems they might have turned back or are trying to trick us." Kakashi mused.

"What do you want to do?" Kotetsu asked.

"Head back to Konoha." Kakashi told them. "They will find out eventually if they haven't already, but if they know that we have their plans then we need to hurry back, or it could get nasty."

The four nodded to each other again before continuing to travel back to Konoha at a faster speed than before. With them every once in a while checking behind them to make sure they weren't being followed.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

* * *

Silence filled the air as the two just looked at each other from across the desk. Amber eyes looked into the piercing onyx. Both were just sitting there thinking how they should start off this conversation. She remembered Sakura's letter and the part about him and also the fact that he had something to tell her, or would want her to know and then the fact that he had brought Sakura here, where was her husband?

Her fingers lightly began to tap the top of the desk as she continued to look at him. He seemed to be in the same sort of thinking trance she was in as well and she knew he knew that they were things that had to get out in the open, and what Sakura had said in her letter was the only thing keeping her from putting him a cold cell, and that he had brought her here when she was visibly dying. Deeply sighing she decided to begin.

"I'm surprised Uchiha." he quirked an eyebrow. "I didn't think you would come back here." she said interlacing her fingers and resting her chin on them.

"It was necessary." he briefly told her.

"I should thank you for that. My apprentice is alive because of you, but what I don't understand is why her husband didn't bring her here." She tilted her head slightly aggravating him in the process.

"A dead person can't help the living." he coldly told her.

"You killed him?"

"No." it was crisp and cold.

"Then what happened?"

"There was a fire at the estate."

"Would you care to elaborate, or I will be tempted to through you in a cell."

"It was near midnight when the fire started. It started in the building with all the meeting rooms and offices. The servants didn't know what was going on until it was too late. I went in and got her out."

"What about her husband?"

"He wasn't in the bed with her." he hissed at her and she knew that was a touchy subject.

"Do you have any guesses on who could have started the fire?"

"No."

"Did you look for Daisuke?"

"No."

"So do you know who might have started the fire?"

"I don't know." he was getting irritated. He felt like she was blaming him for something he had no idea what happened. The only one who might now was laying in a hospital bed.

"Then we'll have to wait for Sakura then." She mused.

"What happened?" she paused in her thinking, to make sure she heard right. Eyeballing the Uchiha she could see the definite worry in his eyes.

"Poison. It's a slow acting poison, though I am surprised she was alive when you got here. It attacks the lungs and air passage ways. It will cause the victim to start bleeding in the lungs and the air passageways to become clogged. Other symptoms include high fever, sweating, shaking,coughing blood, etc. Usual life expectancy after a dose is give or take two to four hours, though by the damage I saw done it was clearly over four hours since she had received the dose, the only thing that kept her alive was her own medical abilities to try and slow the poison down." she looked at him registering the information about how Sakura was doing. She was tempted to ask about their relationship but she decided against it, she didn't want to scare him off, just yet.

"Another thing Uchiha." she started again and he looked slightly curious at her. "Sakura sent me a letter a few days ago. She asked me personally to seek you out for something of importance. Would you like to expound on the importance part of that. She also mentioned something was keeping you from coming back to Konoha. What is it? Why didn't you want to come back? If you had, you might not be in this situation with Sakura." She asked curiously and he glared at the sky behind her, probably upset at Sakura and then glared at her.

"I want the Elders dead." and an eyebrow raised.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Forest**

**Near Daimyo's Estate**

* * *

The team of four were relieved when they had finally crossed the border into the Fire Country and were finally in familiar territory. The four men continued their ardent push towards Konoha only stopping occasionally for little breaks at rivers to rehydrate themselves. They were currently at a stream when they all noticed something off.

"Kakashi, look at the sky over there." Raidou said pointing in the direction. Kakashi finished his drink before looking.

"Those aren't normal clouds." Kotetsu stated coming over to them.

"No, that's smoke, wood smoke by the looks of it, and it looks a little old. There was a recent fire over there." Kakashi said brushing it off.

"Isn't that the direction of the Daimyo's Estate?" Genma inquired coming up behind Kakashi.

"Hai, it is." Raidou noted.

"Do you think they are in danger?" Kotetsu asked.

"Not likely, but it wouldn't hurt to check it out just in case." Kakashi spoke and motioned for them to get going.

The four took to the trees heading towards the smoke and the Daimyo's Estate. As the closer they got a feeling of dread began to settled into Kakashi's stomach. Something wasn't right and it was making itself known. He sped up slightly and reached the clearing just slightly ahead of the others, but when he saw wasn't what he was expecting.

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**Hope the chapter was good. **

**_Next Chapter: Sasuke and Tsunade talk, Kakashi's team at the estate and their return to Konoha, and someone meets up with Sasuke again._**

**_PLEASE CONTINUE TO POLL, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE._**

**Next Update: not tomorrow, because it's the fourth of July, so it will either be sunday or monday, i haven't decided yet**

**Please Review:)**

**yoyo  
**


	16. Chapter 15: When Truths are Revealed

**The next update, and chapter of the story. **

**thanks for all the reviews, and favorites, and alerts, they mean a lot to me:)**

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy the chapter**

warning: there is some material (Not lime/lemons) that some people might not like, it is not marked but it is in the second section. not explicit, but could be considered disturbing to some.

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**Chapter 15**

**When Truths are Revealed  
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**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage's Office**

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Her eyebrow quirked at his response. He wanted the Elders dead, but why? She had never heard of anything that would make the last Uchiha want to kill the Elders of Konoha. She didn't respond for a moment, instead she just looked at him, contemplating what he had said. Though it was outrageous she was sure that there was some meaning behind it. She had known that Uchihas plan things out and that they were rarely impulsive and had a plan for everything.

He had also seemed so cool when saying it but his eyes at times gave away his emotions and when he had said it, there had been a flicker of anger, hate, and even a little vengeance. He wanted some sort of retribution and she assumed the only way he could get it would be with the Elders dead, but what had they done to deserve such a severepunishment?

"And why the Elders?" she asked curiosity peaked and she watched as he formed an answer in his mind.

"They are responsible for my clans' death." he stoically spoke and her eyes gazed at him questioningly.

"And why would they order the death of one of Konoha's most prominent clans? They would have no reason too, unless you wanted to tell me a story." he glared at her for a moment, but decided to answer her with the story.

"Uchiha Madara, was alive, he was masquerading as Tobi in the Akatsuki." Tsunade's eyes widened with the revealed information. "After my battle with Itachi he took me and told me the truth of what really happened." He paused.

"Go on." She pushed him.

"He told me that the Uchiha clan was planning a Coup D'etat, which was being lead by my father, to get out of the repression Konoha was putting them under. They thought that Konoha feared them and was trying to keep them under control. My brother was supposed to be spying on Konoha for the Uchiha clan, but Danzo was also having him spy on the Uchiha clan for Konoha."

"You're brother was a double agent then?" Tsunade asked and Sasuke nodded.

"The Sandaime wanted to talk with the Uchiha clan to try and dissuade them from attacking Konoha and taking over as well, but in the end the negotiations never went through and the Sandaime had no choice but to give a mission to Itachi."

"What mission was it?" she already had a guess as to what the mission was.

"The elimination of the Uchiha clan."

"What happened afterwards then?"

"He kept me alive, he told the Sandaime to look after me and threatened Danzo that if he ever went after me, that he would leak out all of Konoha's secrets to the enemy. That's why I want the Elders dead. Though I know what my father was doing was wrong, the Elders never should have convinced the Sandaime to give out the mission."

"I can see why you would want the Elders dead, but I can't just kill them because of what happened many years ago, though it was wrong. I can however give you some retribution if I have your cooperation in some matters."

"Hn." she barely scowled at him but continued.

"I already have Danzo under arrest as he was conspiring with the rebels, so he will get sentenced to death, but I can't accuse the other two when there is no valid proof, but you get one of them. Also, you have also been in contact with the rebels, you will be given leniency if you give information about them to us." He nodded in agreement to what he was being asked.

"Also, I need to know about your relationship with my student. I can only assume what might have been going on but I need the whole truth before I get it from Sakura." he nodded again but before she could continue he spoke.

"Let me see her first." she nodded her blond head and the two rose from their seats to go back to the hospital.

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**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

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The four looked at the estate in a mixture of emotions. They were all shocked to find that the large structure that had once stood there now remained only a field of ashes, charred wood, and half standing walls. They continued to stare only knowing that there had been a fire that had caused the destruction of the Daimyo's estate.

"Sakura." Genma said out loud and Kakashi snapped out of his reverie. Without thinking he immediately summoned Pakkun. The pug looked up at him after the smoke had cleared away.

"Hey boss." the dog said and Kakashi crouched down to his level.

"Do you remember Sakura's scent." the pug nodded. "Find it in there." the dog nodded and took off towards the ruined building with the four men behind him.

As soon as the walls were stepped over the dog's nose was too the ground and sniffing. The pug guided them to what probably used to be a bedroom, the only things left were some crumbled stone, from the wash room and two charred bed posts holding shakily onto the half burnt bed frame. But there was no sign of a burnt body.

"This is where it starts." the dog told them. "but there's also another smell that isn't her husband."

"Whose is it?" Kotetsu asked.

"Uchiha Sasuke's scent." the four looked at each other warily before telling the dog to continue his search for other scents. They continued to walk through the ruined compound to another burnt building and the dog led them into it.

"This is interesting. This is where Daisuke's smell is along with his father and another man's scent." the four looked down at the dog before examining the room. It seemed to be an office of sorts and the men decided to look around to see if anything could be salvaged. Kakashi and Genma approached a bookshelf.

The bookshelf was scarred with wood burns and the books were only pages of ashes. They picked through the books seeing if there was anything of importance in them, but most were thrown to the way side. They tried looking through the desk as well but only got charred wood for the most part. All the documents were burned and nothing legible could be made out.

Upon hearing their names called they walked over to where Kotetsu and Raidou were standing. The two men pointed to a corner and to a nearby wall. The men looked and blinking twice they finally registered what was there. It was three burnt skeletons. Two were close together while one was near a wall but near where the doorway used to be. Walking closer to the door as he saw something glint from the corner of his eye he crouched down and blowing some ashes away revealed a metal candle holder.

He picked it up gently as to not break it. He sighed wearily as he showed the small piece of metal to the other three in the room. They all knew it was most likely the culprit that started this fire. But now the questions remained of why were three people, one being Daisuke, in here at night? It didn't make sense unless something happened and there was a struggle and the candle was tossed. But that led to who was holding the candle and who attacked.

But by the way the bodies were positioned across the room and where the lone body was settled and if Pakkun's nose was correct the lone body was that of Daisuke, but who would have knocked him down causing his to lose the candle, that led to igniting the whole estate. The four looked at each other questions apparent in their eyes. They needed to get back to Konoha to talk with Tsunade about this.

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**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hospital**

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He looked at the same thing he had looked at earlier. She was still lying in the bed unconscious with IVs hooked to her arms and a breathing mask on. Upon entering the room he could hear the beat of the heart monitor, beeping in tune with her heart as she breathed and lived.

"She also had minor smoke inhalation damage." Tsunade said from behind him. He looked over his shoulder before proceeding on to be next to her.

Finally he stood above her, like he had done at the Daimyo's estate, in her bedroom. The first time, attempting to kill her husband and the second trying to get her. He inwardly scoffed at how weak minded he had become, but at the same time he wasn't weak. He had told himself that if in the end he would allegiance himself to the pink haired woman and that was exactly what he had done.

Moving his eyes to the side, he saw the Hokage walk up to the side of him to the left. He knew she wanted an answer to her question. What was his relationship with her student? It was easy to say in his mind. He was her forbidden lover, someone that she shouldn't even be communicating with, let alone being alone with.

"We are lovers." he spoke into the air still looking at the pink haired woman laying in the bed next to him. He could feel the tension that now resided between him and the blond Hokage.

"_Lovers?_" she questioned. "She has or had a husband that was the Daimyo, do you know could happen if anyone found out she had an affair with you while being married to Daisuke?" he shook his head but he had an idea.

"She could be executed for this." she hissed at him. "Lucky for you I won't tell anyone, and you better keep quiet about it too." she had a hand on his shoulder and was looking at him straight in the eye. "You're just lucky that Daisuke isn't around." she muttered before leaving him and walking out of the room closing the door.

Looking after her for a second he took a seat in the chair next to her bed. He sat back and just watched her as she recovered from her ordeal. The faint fogging of the mask for a second before going clear only to return to the foggy state remained constant as she breathed with its help. He ran a hand through his raven hair as he just sat there watching.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

**Hours Later**

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She was still trying to get over the initial shock of everything the Uchiha had told her, an it was a good thing she had some sake to calm her down or she might have gone on a rampage. She sighed wearily. She had been expecting his answer that they were lovers. It was clearly stated in Sakura's letter that she had either crossed the border already or was going too.

Though at the same time she couldn't blame her apprentice for making such a decision to sleep with the Uchiha. Sakura had fawned over him ever since she had first arrived and by the looks of it, even before that. She always knew that in some way or another her apprentice might just be the one to bring the Uchiha back to Konoha, but this was certainly not the way she had planned it.

But besides the fact that the Uchiha was back and that he was her apprentice's lover, she had other issues to deal with. The fact that Sakura was brought in by the Uchiha and she was poisoned didn't sit well with her, as well as the information that there had been a fire out at the estate, especially right after Daisuke had been named Daimyo, and that he was dead, at least to Sasuke's knowledge.

And who was the person that drugged Sakura while she was asleep? It was rather a hard feat to sneak into the Daimyo's Estate though Sasuke proved he could do it several times. But it was a question unanswered and until it was answered it would be just another thing on her mind that she didn't want to deal with.

Everything was coming into perspective so fast that it was getting difficult to comprehend it all. With Danzo's betrayal to the Leaf, the Uchiha's return with his lover or her student, the fire out at the Daimyo's estate, the spies that were in the Fire country and in Rain. She hoped Kakashi's team would get back soon so she would have their information as well, but that would just add more to what she already had to do.

Opening a drawer she pulled out a hidden sake bottle and began to drink. In situations like this it would be better for her to get utterly drunk or at least tried to since she held her sake pretty well, as it helped relieve stress and conflicting emotions about certain things. Of course she also wasn't expecting Kakashi's team to burst into the room as she was taking her first swig and she had trouble making sure it actually went down her throat and not out into the room. Looking over the team's appearance she could already deduct that they had had a rough trip back.

"You're back, I was just thinking about you guys." she said hiding the bottle again, along with a couple of murmurs from someone on the team.

"How did it go?" she asked getting serious. The four looked at each other before turning back to her.

"We tracked the men down and overheard their conversation." Genma stated. "It seems that the men know a lot about the Fire Country. There is an informant that is here in Konoha."

"I know, I already took care of him. He is sitting down in the cells." Tsunade informed them.

"They also seem to know a lot about Sakura, I am guessing they have ties to the Daimyo and the estate." Raidou interjected.

"That is also true. There is an informant at the estate, named Jiro." the four nodded.

"We also got their plans for the next couple of weeks. They will attacking Grass and Waterfall, while one is staying in Rain to try to take over Amegakure. Then after taking Grass and Waterfall, they will head to Cloud and then the Fire Country." Tsunade cursed. She hadn't expected it to be that bad.

"And it gets worse." Kakashi stated and her amber eyes narrowed at him. "On our way back, we saw smoke and went to investigate. The Daimyo's estate is burned, down. Only portions of it are still up but everything is burnt. We didn't find Sakura there, but Pakkun did smell her along with Uchiha Sasuke. But we didn't find anything about them afterwards." he paused and Tsunade knew the next words wouldn't be good.

"We looked around the other building and found the bodies of Daisuke, as well as two others in the room where we suspect the fire started. We assume that Daisuke was in the room looking for something when he got caught. We guess there was a scuffle and that Daisuke was knocked down dropping the candle he was holding and the fire erupted at the doorway. The other two men were caught in the destruction as well." Kakashi told her soberly and she knew he was worried about Sakura.

"I will send a couple teams out to check it out, but before you go back, I would like to tell you something." The four looked confused at her.

"Sakura is here in Konoha, at the hospital, she was poisoned."

"How-" Kakashi started

"Uchiha Sasuke, brought her here. She is stabilized but in poor condition, though she should make it."

"What about Uchiha?" Genma asked.

"He will be staying here. He has brought some matters to my attention. He is under watch but not in a cell. He is actually with Sakura right now. I need to head down to the hospital to check on her so you are all dismissed." the four nodded and were leaving the room when Kakashi was asked to stay behind.

"Yes Tsunade-sama?" he asked, eye crinkling in interest.

"I would like to confide in you some things of great importance as you and Sasuke were the closest when he was years ago." he nodded and she proceeded.

"Sasuke told me about a truth about the Uchiha Massacre." this got Kakashi's attention. "He told me that his brother was working as a double agent for both the Sandaime and the Uchiha clan. The Uchiha Clan was planning a coup against Konoha, as they were feeling they were being repressed. The Sandaime wanted to talk with the clan but before any talking could be done it was too late and there was an order give, that ordered Uchiha Itachi to exterminate the Uchiha Clan."

"He couldn't get rid of Sasuke though?" Kakashi questioned.

"No, he couldn't, he told the Sandaime to watch out for him and threatened Danzo to stay away from Sasuke or he would leak out Konoha's secrets."

"What about Danzo now?" Kakashi asked.

"He is currently residing in a cell. He was the informant in Konoha." Kakashi's eye widened slightly.

"He was the informant?"

"Hai. I found all these documents in his office." she pushed a stack towards Kakashi. "I believe there was also an informant at the estate, but now we won't know until Sakura wakes up."

"How bad is she?"

"The poison is a slow acting poison to cause death. It attacks the lungs and blocks air passageways. She had bleeding in her lungs. She had a high fever, and heavy sweats, but after a while we got her stabilized, though she is on oxygen right now." she paused for a second. "I want you to get Naruto and then meet me at the hospital. We all need to talk." Kakashi nodded and was about to disappear when Tsunade stopped him again.

"Also, I am the only one who knows this but for their safety I would like to inform you of something else as well." he looked at her quizzically. "I asked Sasuke about his relationship with Sakura."

"And."

"He told me flatly that they were lovers." Kakashi closed his eye for a moment before looking back at the Hokage.

"Does he know the consequences of such an action?"

"I told him, but he doesn't seem to care about the consequences."

"Hai, arigatou for telling me." Kakashi said this time disappearing from the room while Tsunade began to make her way towards the hospital.

Kakashi went to the first place that he knew Naruto would be at. Even before he hit the stand he could already see the back of the orange and black jacket the boy always wore along with his loud voice calling for more ramen. Walking into the area where he could clearly see the boy he also saw the violet haired girl right next him smiling at him shyly.

Kakashi shook his head admiring the scene before him. It was news that Sakura didn't know yet, but the knucklehead had finally managed to get himself a girlfriend, that happened to be Hyuga Hinata, the shyest girl in the village, but had loved Naruto since before they were genin. His eye crinkled as he smiled at the pair before approaching and putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Kakashi-sensei!" he said in between bites of ramen. "what are you doing here." the man smiled beneath his mask. He knew the blond would be happy to know that Sakura was back in the village.

"Tsunade-sama needs to see us at the hospital."

"The hospital? Why the hospital?"

"Sakura is there and Tsunade-sama wishes to speak with us." Naruto's face lit up at the mention of the pink haired woman.

"She's in Konoha?!"

"Hai, and Tsunade needs to see us, so lets go." Naruto nodded and spoke to Hinata quietly before standing up, paying for his and Hinata's food before following his sensei to the hospital.

As the two walked through the streets to get to the hospital Kakashi kept thinking of what Tsunade had told him about Sasuke, and then about Sasuke and Sakura. He could clearly remember the turmoil in Konoha with the Uchiha Clan before the massacre. The clan had begun to get restless and though he would never have thought that the Sandaime would give out an order to kill an entire clan he could see the sense that there was in the decision.

The Uchiha were a proud and haughty clan and hated to be underestimated. The sons of the clan were trained hard and they worked vigorously to awaken the sharingan. His friend Obito, though an Uchiha didn't always listen to the Elders of the clan and was not necessarily a prodigy of a son that Itachi and even Sasuke had been.

Then the issue of Sasuke and Sakura. He knew that Sakura had strong feelings for him but he never would have believed that she would even cross that line of adultery for Sasuke. He had seen her and her struggle for Sasuke for the time they had been a team, and he had _never_ showed any interest towards her, so why now? Unless Sasuke hadn't been able to cut all those bonds he claimed he had.

But in his mind he knew that there was something else that had gone on between the two. Sakura was a very selfless person. He knew that. She had sacrificed her happiness to save her country from a civil war. She had said that to Tsunade, she would be happy to keep the country in peace even if it meant that she could no longer be a kunoichi, that's just the way she was.

The two entered into the hospital and were told by one of the nurses where Sakura's room was at. The two found their way towards the room and could already hear small voiced inside the room talking. Kakashi figured it had to have been Tsunade and Sasuke, unless Sakura had woken up. He wasn't exactly sure how Naruto would react to the sight that was before him when he opened the door, but Kakashi stood to the side of Naruto as Naruto opened the door.

"What the hell is he doing here?"

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**Hope that was a good chapter. and some more plots will be coming up in the next chapter, and i will warn you, that in the next few chapters there are going to be some BIG plot twists and you may not like them, but they are really good.  
**

**_Next Chapter: Old team 7 talks, the leader of the rebels begins to reveal himself, a team get's sent to check out the estate and they find something interesting, and Sakura awakens._**

**Update: probably wednesday night or thursday day. i am going kayaking this week and i need to start on chapter 19 before i post. also as my brother is home, getting on to my computer is a little harder and my laptop died, so until i get a new one, no writing on it, so all computer that me and my brother share, just be glad he goes to work with my dad now during the day sometimes. :)**

**PLEASE CONTINUE TO POLL, THOUGH IT IS LOOKING LIKE FORCED IS GOING TO THE BE THE WINNER, PLEASE POLL STILL!!!**

**_now i give you the opportunity to review:)_**

**yoyo  
**


	17. Chapter 16: Two Sided Intentions

**I am feeling extremely happy right now which is why i am posting. i just got my mail and that AP class i had, well i got the scores and i FREAKING PASSED!!! do you know how happy that makes me? extremely, like beyond happy, because statistics was hard and gave me major headaches so now i can say that those headaches were not in vain or the hours of lost sleep. **

**thanks for all the reviews and support. a special thanks to a certain reviewer butsuhika, i loved your review and it gave me a confidence boost. so thank you publically. **

**I just realized that this story just surpassed to mend the broken in reviews. i didn't know if it would happen at first, so thank you all for reviewing. lets try and hit 190 to 200!!**

**Disclaimer: DNON.**

**Enjoy the chapter.  
**

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**Chapter 16**

**Two Sided Intentions  
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**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Office**

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The man looked ahead of him at the man that had given him the news. It was surprising to say the least. It definitely wasn't something he expected, especially after talking to the informant only days ago. He wasn't given any details except that there was a fire. He already knew that if it was a fire it probably set or meant to happen since the members of the upper group were supposed to keep everything silent even if it meant silencing others, but somehow this fire still didn't sit with him well. It was too big of a thing to be a silencing act and because of it he had lost an informant and an upper member.

He waved the messenger away as he turned to look out a window and into the view of pouring rain. It was always raining here which he liked, it meant that trails could get washed away. He knew that the old Akatsuki leader Pein, used this very city himself, but it didn't matter that much after he was killed in the battle against Konoha.

But he was a little different he didn't control Amegakure like Pein did, he just worked with the upper leaders but soon he would control the city and the country. Getting out of the chair his broad form walked towards the window in the room overlooking the factory looking city, a smile on his lips. In time everything would he controlled by him.

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**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hospital**

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The words that had come out of Naruto's mouth really weren't unexpected to Kakashi. He had figured Naruto would swear a little before he calmed down enough to somewhat rationalize the situation before he would say something sensible, but that just always isn't the case and he knew by one lookd at Tsunade that she was thinking the exact same thing.

"You bring me here thinking I would _just_ be talking to baa-chan and instead I find her, with the teme, and Sakura-chan lying in a hospital bed!" Naruto said childishly pointing a finger at the silver haired man. "what kind of joke is this?" all three that were awake sighed at the blond's ignorance.

"Naruto, relax." Kakashi told him smoothly. "I didn't tell you because if I did you would have run here with the intent of beating up Sasuke after standing and gaping at Sakura for at least a minute." Kakashi walked into the room leaving Naruto, gaping, in the doorway.

Finally he gathered himself before coming into the room closing the door behind him. Kakashi leaned against the counter near where Sasuke was seated next to Sakura, while Naruto made his way over to the other side of the bed where he grasped Sakura's hand lightly and gave a little squeeze to it before turning to the other three occupants in the room, giving Sasuke a dangerous glare in the process, and then the only thing he could think was that team 7 was together again.

"What's going on?" he asked sending a glance to Sakura before facing Tsunade.

"Apparently a lot. The Daimyo's Estate was burned down due to a fire that was started. Sakura was saved here by our ever elusive Uchiha and was brought here for medical treatment." Tsunade summarized basically what needed to be said.

"What about Daisuke?" Sasuke twitched and Kakashi answered.

"He died in the fire. I think he was in the room where the fire started, along with two other men."

"I will be sending two squads to check it out later." Tsunade informed them as well, "but now we need to talk."

"About what baa-chan?"

"The mess that we seem to be in. Naruto I am letting you into this conversation with great discretion, don't make me misplace my trust in you. Is that understood?" the blond boy nodded, with a somber look plastered on his face. Amber eyes looked into the one grey eye in the room before proceeding.

"This conversation stays in this room and only in this room. In the last few weeks Konoha has gained some intelligence on the Rebel situation. The boy that we took prisoner offered up valuable information but now most is completely worthless. As of now, we only have one information source and that is Danzo."

"Danzo? What does he have to do with it?" Naruto piped.

"He is or rather was an informant for the rebels providing them with information. I have all of his records and dealings with the rebels but I have already give the order for interrogation. Seeing as he has just more than the rebels that he needs to confess for."

"What's the other thing." Naruto asked sharply.

"The order of the extermination of my clan." Sasuke spoke deadly and Naruto stared at him but remained quiet, as did the entire room, the only sound was the beep of the heart monitor. Naruto was about to say something but Tsunade stopped him.

"We'll tell you later. Now, other than Danzo, we only know that their leader is in Rain. We also know that the Daimyo is dead and the only person connected to the family is Sakura." Sasuke tensed. "and that's where we are going to focus right now since, I have three people in this room who know something albeit one is asleep, but that is okay." she looked at the two men and the sleeping Sakura before she began. "Now lets get started."

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**Fire Country**

**Konoha  
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**Interrogation Building**

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The man had been in this room several times before, just not in the position he was in. He was not quite used to the feeling of being the person interrogated, as he was usually either doing the interrogation or being a bystander in the whole process. His eyes remained passive as his arms were strapped to the arms of the chair as well as his legs were to the legs of the chair.

He knew most of the people in the room. Of course the infamous, Morino Ibiki, they wouldn't get any one less able than Ibiki to do his interrogation. Slightly behind him was Yamanaka Inoichi, he assume for his mind abilities just in case he decided to really put up a fight. There were also three other regular interrogators in the room as well as a medic standing beside a metal table with the instruments on it hidden from his apparent view.

The men around him shuffled for a few minutes, around each other and the metal table before Ibiki came to stand right in front of him leaning against the metal table, arms crossed over his broad chest, and looking extremely aggravated as well a meaner look painted on his face than usual. For a few minutes the room was silent before Ibiki started.

"I never thought I would interrogating a higher up like yourself." he said almost nonchalantly and Danzo remained quiet, looking straight ahead of him. "Everyone knows you want power but to go to such lengths to betray your own village. What were you thinking?" Ibiki knew that he wasn't getting any where with the simple banter. "We need to get information and if you don't give it to us willingly, we can do it in a more painful manner." Danzo remained quiet.

Ibiki nodded to the medic behind him, and the medic was soon getting something ready that Danzo couldn't see. Within a few minutes the medic straightened from her position and approached him with a syringe, with a yellow looking substance inside of the tube. Danzo's face remained impassive as he watched the medic approach him. The medic pushed his left sleeve up and inserted the needle in and then pressed down on the syringe to let the fluid enter into his system.

The medic walked away after injecting the substance into the man. She went back over to the table and set the syringe down and let Ibiki know that it would take about ten minutes before the substance would start taking effect. Ibiki nodded and turned his attentions back to the man that the village had trusted in ways.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Office**

* * *

The man looked over the report the messenger had just dropped off for him. It was a message from one of the others letting him know that he was well on his way into Grass to take over the hidden village and country. The man said he would need another few days.

Setting down the paper the man smirked again. Things were progressing faster than he thought. Now all he had to do was get rid of a certain someone here in Ame and then start to turn the councilors towards him and things would turn out perfectly. He knew that Konoha probably had some information about their plans but they already had enough to worry about what with their Daimyo being killed.

They would focus on them but not as urgently. The Hokage could only do so much, especially now that her apprentice was fighting for her life. That was the only mistake that he had discovered when he had investigated the fire a little. The Daimyo's wife escaped, and by the help of none other than Uchiha Sasuke.

That man would have to pay for deceiving them. His little plan had only worked to where the son was killed, but he thought he held the Uchiha in his palm, but he didn't. The others had warned him of the possible defect that the Uchiha could become, but he had been so sure that he wouldn't. He guessed it was a lesson to him. Not everything worked out perfectly but the end result would still be the same.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

* * *

It was mid afternoon and the discussion in the hospital room had been very fruitful. She had felt bad for Naruto though. She could still his face twist with emotion when Sasuke had told them of his and Sakura's affair with one another. Kakashi had to restrain Naruto for a few minutes so that the blond wouldn't kill the Uchiha before they got all the information they need. Sasuke had told them about his mission and then how upon seeing Sakura something in him had snapped.

Kakashi had taken it in stride with everything else. He had heard of everything and went with it, allowing his former student to continue to speak about what had happened the night of the fire and how the night before him and Sakura had been together. Kakashi had hardly ever blinked during the tale of the Uchiha, but valuable information about the rebels was produced and that was what counted in the long run.

She pulled the files that she had collected from Danzo's office and began to look through them as she called for Shizune. The dark haired woman entered into the room and asked what she needed. Still flipping through the files she told the woman to send birds to the Hidden Grass, Waterfall, Rain and Cloud, to let them know that the rebels would try and attack them, and then to gather two squads together and have them meet her in her office within an hour.

Moving the papers around on her desk she began to look over them carefully. She began to on a different scroll write down the commonly used names that were used over again. The dates were all relatively far apart until only a few months ago when the dates started to become closer. Through the papers she began to notice the workings of the rebels. Things had been planned extensively, and she could only think that the main man behind this all had some authoritative power in the Rain country. She had names but she didn't know which one was the political one yet.

She again called for Shizune and told her to get the political records of the Rain Country. She needed to find out who exactly in the Rain country was planning this whole thing. With that out of the way, she would be able to notify Rain more about the predicament that they were in and help them try to either get rid of the man or capture him for interrogation.

She hadn't been able to fully look through the records before the two teams she had requested were before her. The group consisted of Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Sai, Shino, Hinata, and Kiba with Akamaru. She smiled faintly at the two teams. They were picked well and would gather sufficient evidence. She straightened herself a little before beginning.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush." they looked at her with new seriousness. "The Daimyo's Estate caught fire and was destroyed. Your mission is to investigate the area. I want answers. Don't overlook anything and when you get back I want a full report from each one of you, personally. You have as much time as you need to get the answers." the group nodded. "You leave now." nods again, but they didn't leave.

"Tsunade-sama?" Ino's voice cracked and amber eyes looked at the bleached blond.

"Hai."

"Was Sakura..... caught in the fire?" the hokage shook her head.

"No, she is here in Konoha, being brought here by a friend. You can see her when you get back. She is still recovering." The seven nodded and finally left the room.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hospital.**

**Night**

* * *

The chair was starting to make his back go stiff. He had to have been sitting in the chair for at least six hours, only getting up when he absolutely needed to, otherwise he was sitting right next to her, watching her, making sure that he would be there when she woke up. He knew she would be asking questions about why she was there and he was really the only one with the answers.

He thought back to the earlier discussion that the four awake people had had. He could see Naruto's hurt expression when he was told of him and Sakura and their infidelity. He had held a look of almost sadness in his eyes and yet a betrayal at the same time. He almost felt guilty about what he had done when Naruto had first looked at him after telling them, and he would probably have welcomed the beating that Naruto wanted to give him.

Repositioning himself in the chair he let his head lean back slightly and closed his eyes. He was tired as all get out, as he hadn't slept in at least twenty four hours is not more due to everything that had happened. The hospital was quiet and only the night shift nurses were around to check on certain patients at certain times, but him and Sakura were left alone as he drifted into sleep.

She could hear the beeping and the warmth around her mouth as she breathed in and out. Her head felt dizzy and she almost just wanted to fall back asleep so that maybe the throbbing in her body could go away. She half wondered what the men had given her that made her feel so out of it, and then why they would give something like this to her.

Opening her eyes was difficult. She knew the room she was in was dark but yet she could still the whiteness of the room and knew she must be in a hospital or else she was just imagining it all. She attempted to move her arms but they felt like dead weights and decided to not move them at all until she knew just exactly was going on.

Shifting her head was easier than trying to move her arms and once she succeeded in tilting her head to look at where the incessant beeping was coming from she saw the dark figure in the chair. She could hardly see his features as his chin was on his chest and his raven bangs covered his face. His arms were crossed over his chest as he sat there slumped in his seat. Overall he looked exhausted.

She tried to say something but it got muffled in the breathing mask. Again she tried to lift her heavy arms and through will power she decided, she removed the mask slightly to breathe normally. Taking a few deeps breath of the room's air she again began to try and wake up the male that was seated in the chair next to the bed.

"Sa..sas..sasuke." she finally managed but the man didn't move from his position, and it didn't help that her voice sounded like a mouse. Again she called to him and got more of a reaction but he still didn't awake. She figured his chair was close enough to the bed that if she reached out and touched him he would awaken.

Gathering her little strength she moved her arm over the bed and gently touched above his knee. He shifted again and if she was stronger she probably would have screamed at him, but instead she kept prodding him with her heavy hand and finally he awoke.

He felt a hand touching him and at first dismissed it as his imagination, but when the hand began to become even more incessant he opened an eye to look down at where the hand was at. He saw the pale limb between his bangs and then his eyes followed the hand, up the arm and then the shoulder to the face of his lover.

She had removed her breathing mask and still carried a pale complexion to her skin. He ran a hand through his bangs before he grabbed her hand and scooted the chair closer to the bed. Though it wasn't an act he would normally do, just this once he would, for her. He brought his hand up to her face and pushed several of her hairs away from her face and he heard her sigh.

"Sakura, are you okay?" he asked and she nodded faintly. He could feel her hand tighten momentarily on his, before it went lax again. "You should sleep, we can talk in the morning." she nodded again and he watched her drift into sleep again.

He didn't sleep for the rest of the night. He just watched her as she slept, making sure that if she awoke again he would be awake to see to her. The sun filtering into the room was the indication that dawn was breaking and he slouched again in the seat, just watching her, but the filtering sun made her awaken as well.

She looked more rejuvenated than she had been the night before. The paleness had started to seep back into her normal color as she opened and began to flicker her green eyes around the room taking in the familiar surroundings of the Konoha hospital, that she had been so accustomed too, before she had gotten married. Her face turned to Sasuke and he saw that she was looking for answers to her questions and he already knew the questions.

"I saved you from the estate. It caught fire, so I went in and got you of there before anything could happen." she nodded.

"Daisuke?" she mumbled.

"He's dead. He died in the fire at the estate. Tsunade thinks it might have been him that accidentally lit the estate on fire." she nodded a far away look in her eyes.

"What... am I ...doing here?" she asked again.

"Someone poisoned you. When I found you were just hanging on." she nodded her head again and turned her head to look at the ceiling. He ran a thumb pad over the back of her hand.

"They know." he spoke and she looked back at him, the question 'about what' was written in her eyes.

"They know we...slept together." he grounded out and she closed her eyes.

He felt her tug at his hand and knowing what she wanted he moved closer to her side. She brought his hand up to her face slowly and gave his palm a kiss before placing it on her cheek and gave him a small encouraging smile that seemed to tell him that everything would be okay.

He leaned forward and gave her a chaste kiss on her lips before moving back to study her face as he kept his hand on her cheek where she had placed it, occasionally running his thumb over her face to let her know it would be alright as well and they just sat there telling each other silently that everything was going be all right.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

**Morning**

* * *

The seven looked at the destruction before them. The couldn't help but to look astounded at the darkened area that had once been the place of the estate that served their Daimyo as his living quarters, as well as Sakura's old home as well. They had all been relieved when they had heard that Sakura was not caught up in the fire, but they guessed the Daimyo and Daisuke had been caught up in it.

The seven spread out searching the entire perimeter. Kiba and Akamaru started with the tree line, while the others started on the wreckage. Kiba and Akamaru were scouting around the tree line when both sniffed something very familiar. The god looked towards its master and Kiba nodded. It was the definite scent of an Uchiha, and they decided to dig a little deeper into the area.

The other six back at the site were looking around the entire compound, trying to salvage anything that might be of use to them in figuring out answers. Shino was in the area that had burnt books littered around the floor, though most were just ash now. He looked through them and only managed to make them crumble even more.

He was walking around when he stepped on a floorboard that creaked in just the right way that made him suspicious. Kneeling down onto the blackened area he began to knock against the floorboards. He noticed Ino watching him and she came over to where he was at, asking if he had found anything, and he nodded his head that he might have.

They called for Hinata who quickly came over. Shino told her that something might be under the floor and he asked her to see. Crying out byakugan her eyes changed as she could see through it. She noticed the several boxes that were under the floorboards and let the two know of her findings.

Ino and Shino then began to work on pulling out the floorboards with the help of the others, as they started to gather around the area.. Pulling out several of the boards they found the boxes and began to heft them out. Having the three boxes out of the underground area, they lifted the lids of the boxes. Their eyes widened as Shikamaru took out a file and opened it, pictures of very familiar people falling out of the now open folder.

* * *

**Hehe, so who are the pictures of? anyone want to guess? just another thing to add to the whole plot thing, but the other big plot hasn't even started yet, it's just scraping the surface right now. **

**_Next Chapter: Another talk in the hospital room about some very important issues, Sasuke confesses his original intentions to Sakura, Kakashi shows something to Sasuke, what the teams at the estate found, another two parts of plot bunny come in, yeah!!_**

**Update: thursday or friday, probably friday though. i already wrote chapter 19 all the way so need to start on 20.**

**_PLEASE CONTINUE TO POLL!!!_**

**i now give you the opportunity to let me know how i did, by letting you review!**

**yoyo  
**


	18. Chapter 17: The Cold Truths

**It's thursday and that means an update. woohoo. i was going to try to get it out a little earlier but i was sorta tired from kayaking all day, but it was way fun!**

**Thank you thank you thank you for all the reviews. i really appreciate them. as well as the favorites and alerts. they all make me happy. **

**Disclaimer: DNON, but karin in the anime is kinda freaky and her hair is waaaaaaayyyy to bright for me. i might just have to get sunglasses to watch her parts**

**Enjoy the chapter!!!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 17**

**The Cold Truths  
**

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* * *

  
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* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hospital**

* * *

When Tsunade had been informed that Sakura had awoken she had immediately gone to the hospital to check over her. The staff moved out of her way as she made her way towards the room. She had told Shizune to let Kakashi know that she was awake, so that he could come to the hospital as well. When she opened the door she saw Sakura leaning up against her pillows the Uchiha still by her side.

She could see that the two had been talking as she could faintly see the redness that surrounded Sakura's eyes and the grip that she had on the Uchiha's hand. She saw Sakura's lips move and then the Uchiha stand lean forward to her to give her a chaste kiss before pulling away and most likely saying something back.

She walked into the room making her presence known to the two so they could prepare themselves for what probably was too come. The two looked at her and immediately a smile crossed Sakura's face. She could tell that the girl was happy to be back in her home village. Though she knew she had liked being out in the estate, she always knew her apprentice had missed the village.

"Good to see you are awake Sakura." she said trying to act a little happy. "You gave us quite a scare there for a little bit." she said, checking over the clipboard the last nurse had left in the room.

"Gomen, shishou. I didn't mean to cause such a fuss." Sakura told her.

"It's quite alright. The important thing is that you are alive and well." She said turning to the pair. "Kakashi has been invited to join our little talk so we will wait for him before we begin."

Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other knowing that what was to come probably wasn't going to be funnest thing they had ever done and quite frankly there weren't looking forward to it. Sasuke had already gotten a lecture on how he shouldn't have crossed the line with Sakura, yesterday and he had no doubt that another was going to come.

Withing five minutes the copy nin arrived, poking his head around the door, giving a lame excuse as to why he was a little late, before getting yelled at to just get into the room so they could talk about certain matters and inwardly Sakura cringed knowingly that she was going to be interrogated by her ex-teacher and her shishou.

"Now that we are all here, we have a little predicament." everyone stayed silent. "Sakura, when Sasuke brought you here you were poisoned, can you tell us who poisoned you and what happened beforehand, if you can." Sakura was taken aback slightly seeing as how her mentor was urgent to get this done.

"I was sleeping, when I heard Daisuke get up and leave the room and was falling back asleep when I heard the door open again. I thought it was Daisuke." she stopped remembering the night.

"Who was it?"

"I didn't see their faces very well, but I recognized one as the Daimyo's messenger, Jiro, his voice when I was struggling gave him away. The other one held the familiar stance and look of the old Daimyo. When the door opened I called out because I thought it was Daisuke, but then I felt them near me. One of them tried to hold me down while the other inserted the needle and liquid into me." she paused a shudder running through her.

"When they finally injected it, I soon began to feel weaker. I didn't know what the man had injected into me, all I know was that only a few minutes afterward I was feeling sick and then I passed out." she told them staring at her hands that were laying on the white sheet. "What exactly did they inject, Tsunade-shishou?" the woman looked at her apprentice.

"A poison. It affects the lungs and air passageways. You're lucky you got here when you did, and the fact that you are a trained medic nin. Your body already started to fight the poison when it entered your system." Sakura nodded at her words, and shot a glance at Sasuke, silently thanking him.

"Now there is another thing we need to talk about and I know you two won't like it." Tsunade pointing a finger at both Sasuke and Sakura, like they were young genin again. "Sasuke, confessed about you two being intimate. I kind of figured it when I read your letter Sakura, but Uchiha here confirmed it." Sakura bowed her head. She knew her mentor wouldn't have approved.

"This is a serious crime," Sakura couldn't look at anyone, "if it gets out that you were having an affair. However, knowing that only five people have knowledge of the affair, it won't get out. However you two are to remain apart for the time being. You, Sakura, are still the wife of the Daimyo, though he is deceased. I also assume that he has tried for his heir, since it has been a few days, since he left here. If in the weeks to come that you have not conceived his heir then you will be released from the marriage contract. However if you do carry a child, your affair, will have to stop permanently, and you two will be forbidden to see each other alone."

Sakura's heart constricted at the thought of having another child with Daisuke. When the news of the first one came, she was ecstatic because then she could forget the Uchiha, but now it was different. They were lovers now, and if she did have another child with Daisuke she would be barred from him forever. She didn't know if she could do that.

She felt a light squeeze at her hand and her eyes darted to the hand. Seeing Sasuke's hand over hers she knew that everything would be okay. They would get through this together and with any luck there wouldn't be a child and they could be free to continue their relationship without any disturbances or any distractions.

"Now it is also important that you two also know some other truth that we have found out. Sakura, I'm sure you were starting to figure it out already, when you wrote me with the name Jiro. He is or rather was apart of the rebel group. We also have information that Daisuke's father was also a part of the rebel group." The two looked at the woman. Sakura's face held shock and disbelief, while Sasuke's held the small likeness of hatred.

Sasuke could barely contain his anger that his lover had been living in a rat's nest, full of rebels. He could barely comprehend that all the times that he had left her, she was defenseless in an estate full of rebels that wanted to kill her, and they almost succeeded. He was sure that if they weren't already dead he would have made sure that they would have been dead after hearing this news.

"Daisuke, was not a part of the rebels, but his father and the man named Jiro had been relaying information about Konoha to the rebels. Sakura, you should also know that Danzo was also an informant for the rebels, and is undergoing interrogation as we speak."

Sakura was taking in the information with difficulty. It was hard to realize that all this time, that when she had been at the estate, she was under the watch of the rebels. Everything was so planned and thought out that it was hard to come to terms with and even in Konoha there had been a spy for the rebels and it was Danzo. Though she really had no respect for the man she did acknowledge him.

Her headache was coming back and with a sigh she leaned father back into the pillows and wiped a few stray hairs away from her face. Her mentor could see that the girl was still tired from the drug and dismissed Kakashi, as well as Sasuke, but the man wouldn't budge from his chair, telling her quietly that him and Sakura needed to talk. The blond head nodded and left the room.

Sasuke turned back to a seemingly distraught Sakura. A hand was covering her face as she tried to take in the information. There was just so much that she hadn't known and that was right under her nose. She knew that right now she was probably failing as a kunoichi, but after not being one for months she could assume it was normal.

"Don't blame yourself." his voice spoke to her.

"I was there. It was right there and I didn't notice it." she told him feeling guilty.

"You began to notice." he told her quietly trying to get some pride back into her. "Or is there something else?" he asked strained.

"Us." she finally spoke. "I never should have done what we did. I attached myself to you in an emotional way. If I become pregnant, we can never see each other again."

"If you are, the child could be mine." he spoke again.

"And let everyone know what we did? We could both be punished, if that was the case."

"Then pray you aren't!" he snarled at her instantly feeling guilty. She was only in this position because of him, because of his selfish desires.

"Don't blame yourself, it's not your fault." He said quietly, bowing his head and she looked at him.

"What?"

"Don't...blame yourself." he drew a deep but pained breath. "It was my intention all along for you to sleep with me." her heart wrenched. "I wanted to hurt Daisuke in a painful manner before killing him. After I first saw you the first attempt something snapped inside of me. I knew I had to have you, and that's exactly what I did. I went back to the rebel I met with, promising to kill Daisuke, only if I could have you." she looked at him, with tears beginning to swim in her eyes.

"The only reason I told you about the truth was to see if your feelings remained the same. They were and.....I took what I wanted. But then things changed." He couldn't talk any further.

She looked at him stunned. He had just confessed that he may have been there for her, but at the same time helping out the rebels. He had toyed with her emotions, while she had been under difficult circumstances, and had in a way manipulated her to achieve his goals. All she could think about was how stupid she really was.

"Get out." she quietly told him. A look of shock appeared in his eyes.

"What?"

"I said get out." she repeated lowly again.

"Sakura, -"

"I need time to think." She muttered. He understood her and nodded his head, getting out of the chair and left the room but not before giving her a small kiss on her pink tresses.

Walking out of the door, he could understand where she was coming from. He had used her feelings against her and in the end it had hurt her. He knew that from the beginning she could get hurt emotionally but he didn't think she would take it as hard as she had, but she had always been more sensitive to things.

Sighing he leaned against the door after he shut it. Now he didn't no where to go. He suspected that he would have ANBU around him, but looking to the side he saw a familiar silver haired jonin leaning with his back against the wall, orange book out in front of him, casually reading it as if nothing had gone wrong inside the room.

"The truth hurts." Kakashi stated it easily.

"Aa." Sasuke muttered.

"Come on. Tsunade knew she would probably kick you out at some time, so I have something to show you." Sasuke nodded and followed the older man out of the hospital and towards the final destination.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Daimyo's Estate**

* * *

They were all stunned as they looked at the pictures that had floated to the dark burnt wood. Several of the others opened up files and again pictures rained to the ground. Some they didn't know but most of the pictures were of their friends. From the raven hair of a traitor to the sun burst yellow of the loudest ninja. There was the honey colored hair of their leader and the petal pink of one of the most selfless people alive.

Shikamaru bent down and gathered the pictures together to study them closer. They were all there, the rookie nine that had taken the chunin exams together to the older squads that had indispensable shinobi on the team. From the Hyuga family to the Yamanakas, to the master of insects and dogs. The family that knew of shadow techniques to the family that knew the enlargement jutsus. They were all there, even the picture of the former ROOT member.

The group looked at one another trying to make sense of what was going on. What did all this mean? The Daimyo had a hidden area full of information on most of the Konoha Shinobi. Including a shinobi that was from an organization that didn't keep the records of what its members did and who the members even were.

Then a new sound was heard and all heads looked to where Shikamaru was standing at. His finger was flipping through the pages of each folder, scanning the contents to see what exactly was in them. Each person looked at him expectantly waiting for him to say something. With a snap the file was closed and Shikamaru closed his eyes pondering something for a moment.

"We need to get back to Konoha." was all he said before he dropped the file on top of the many others that were in the boxes before them.

The group watched as Shikamaru walked away from the boxes and the room before they gathered the pictures and the files and placed them back in the boxes. They were making arrangements for who was going to carry the file laden boxes back to Konoha when Kiba and Akamaru came bounding up to the group. The carriers of the boxes put them down knowing that they were again going to be talking about something.

"What is it Kiba?" Ino asked the male.

"We went searching around the perimeter. We found Sakura's scent over there-"

"She's in Konoha." Ino stated matter of factly.

"Yeah but how did she get there?" Kiba snapped. "We followed her scent and guess what other scent we picked up?" The group looked at him almost expectantly. "The Uchiha's scent."

The once curios faces began to darken. If Sakura was in Konoha, then the only way she could have gotten there if she was hurt was undoubtedly by the Uchiha. The group again looked at each other, wanting to know what might be going on with the Uchiha and maybe possibly even Sakura. Again the carriers of the boxes lifted them up and the seven started to make their way back to Konoha, the information needed to get there.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Office**

* * *

His hand passed the piece of paper towards the other man in the room. The man took the note and opened the folded piece of paper. His eyes scanned the contents of the paper before folding it up again and bowed to the man behind the desk before leaving the room in a fashion of respect and closed the door quietly as he went as well.

The man turned in the chair and looked out of the industrial city. He looked over the large structures that made the city almost resemble a factory area. Though he would have to do some renovation to the city it would turn out to be a great city and it would be the center of the new world that we was creating.

A knock on the door broke his thoughts and he called for the person to enter. A woman entered wearing a crimson red kimono, dark hair brought up on the top of her head and bright blue eyes. The woman walked over to him and without her consent he pulled her down to sit in his lap. He felt her tense before asking what she wanted.

"Two reports from Sato and Akira. They are moving well into the countries. They said not to worry, they would finish on schedule." her voice flowed.

"What of Ichiro?" the man asked.

"Still in Mist. Some of the late Mist shinobi are having a hard time adjusting to his governing." she shifted on his lap, so her shoulder was to his chest.

"good." he murmured kissing her neck lightly. "Send them word that I am almost through with the objective here." she nodded before getting up. She was however stopped before she made it past his desk by his hand. She turned around to see him stand from his chair.

"Better start being better behaved Akiko." she looked away after he released her hand and walked out of the room. He thought for a moment before sitting back down in the chair.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha **

* * *

Naruto was wandering around the market area of Konoha his hands placed behind his head, fingers interlocked as well as a few of his blond hairs intermixed. For once he didn't want to train but actually _think. _ It was a somewhat strange sensation to him, to not be focused on getting stronger to bring back Sasuke, but thinking about _how_ Sasuke come back.

He had been and was still semi furious at the raven haired man when the man had told him as well Kakashi and Tsunade that he had been having an affair with Sakura. He had been stunned and furious to find out why exactly Sakura was in the hospital, but the news of the affair tipped him over the edge. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to _feel_. He was confused at all of this.

He had known Sakura since before their genin days and knew that Sakura wasn't some person to easily throw out all moral decisions for one man, but maybe because it was the man she had fawned over for years it had been just too tempting to resist. But she had chosen and a part of him was hurt. He himself had fawned over her, but it was unrequited, yet now she was getting her love, crush, whatever anyone wanted to call it requited. It was going both ways and a part of him ached because of it.

He had let Sakura go when the news of her arranged marriage was announced. He let his feelings her die from the romantic ones to the friends or the sibling feelings. It was hard for him to imagine that Sakura the one that was loyal to a tee, had actually cheated on her husband, all because of Sasuke and for that, that was why he wanted to beat Sasuke.

Bringing his eyes up from the ground he saw Kakashi and Sasuke walking around the town. He could see that Kakashi was talking seeing as how every once in a small moment Sasuke would react to something, then go back to his emotionless facade. Naruto knew that it was either sink or swim time and he decided to be a better than he once was.

Approaching the two he got within a foot of the two men when he put his hand out towards Sasuke, in a manner suggesting truce. Obsidian eyes looked at the outstretched hand with almost a confused spark in them. Naruto brought in a deep breath trying to control himself before he spoke.

"I forgive you." the onyx eyes showed an expression of amazement.

"You shouldn't." was the reply.

"I know, but I want to." Naruto told the man with Kakashi watching the exchange. Without warning Naruto felt the warmth of another hand in his.

"Arigatou." Sasuke said softly.

"No problem and now it's time for some ramen to celebrate the teme's return." Naruto told them leading them both off to the ramen stand.

It was nearing mid afternoon when Kakashi and Sasuke left the ramen stand to finish whatever Kakashi was going to show Sasuke. Onyx eyes roved the streets as they began to approach a more familiar area to Sasuke in the village. Within a few minutes the two stood before the gates that showed people where the Uchiha had lived before the massacre.

With a slight nudge from Kakashi, Sasuke entered into the compound walking forwards to the house that had been his parents. Though he could already see that many of the houses and structures had been torn down and rebuilt in a similar fashion. He half wondered if his own childhood home was also torn down to be rebuilt.

The compound seemed to be smaller to Sasuke and upon asking he found out that it was. Kakashi had told him that the compound had been downsized to fit only a few families instead of a whole clan and Sasuke had a look of gratefulness in his eyes. He didn't want the compound to be a breeding grounds for the Uchiha that had once lived there.

If the Uchiha were to be restored it would on a smaller scale. His children would marry whoever they wanted instead of an Uchiha. The inbreeding that had been done within the Uchiha clan was extensive, which is why all the Uchiha looked similar in appearance. The pale skin, darker hair, darker eyes, and the sharp features. It was rare for an Uchiha to have lighter hair and eyes with darker skin.

Kakashi stopped in front of a house and after a few steps Sasuke stopped to look back at Kakashi. The silver haired man pointed towards the house and told Sasuke that it was his house now. It was near the location of where his childhood house was but this one was built differently and in style as well.

The house was a dark wood, with a single door leading to its entrance. The two went up and entered the home. The floors were also a wood with rugs covering most of it. The house was long with two stories. Sasuke and Kakashi walked around the house, looking at the kitchen, living room, there was an office looking room, a den, and a dining room downstairs.

The two ascended the stairs and walked down the hallway that extended in both directions from where the top of the staircase was at. On one side there was only two rooms. There was a small room and then the master room. Down the other way there were five other bedrooms. All the rooms Sasuke took note of were already furnished except the room next to the master bedroom. Hearing a sound downstairs the two headed to the landing below only to see the busty Hokage standing there waiting for them.

"I see Hatake brought you here." she smiled lightly. "I hope you like the renovations we did to the compound." The Uchiha nodded. "Good. For the time being, you can only be here or at the hospital. If you go out you will need to have Naruto or Kakashi with you. When Sakura gets out you two will have to remain away from each other, at least for the next few weeks until we can determine if she has conceived." Sasuke nodded again.

"You've cooperated with us so far, so when this conflict is over, you will be reviewed and then a punishment will be determined." She told him before giving him a key and a handful of money. "It's your own money. Your parents left you quite the treasure trove." she told him before walking out of the house, followed a little later by Kakashi.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

**Evening**

* * *

The group of seven all entered the Hokage's office, carrying the boxes they had found at the estate. They had taken turns carrying them back to Konoha. The Hokage was sitting at her desk looking over other papers when the group entered. She looked up and eyed the boxes curiously before addressing them.

"You're back sooner than I thought." she said leaning back in the chair.

"We found something of importance and brought it back right away." Ino notified her.

"And what is the something of importance?"

"These boxed hold files about Konoha Shinobi." Shikamaru stated. Amber eyes narrowed and immediately she stood up, walked around the desk and opened up a box that was sitting on the floor. Tearing the lid off she picked up the first couple files her hands came in contact with and quickly flipped them open.

"Kuso." she cursed at the folder. Danzo had been a little more thorough than she would have thought and now the rebels knew countless information on Konoh and it's shinobi. "You're dismissed." she barked at them and for a second they stood there, before another bark came at them and they quickly left the office.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Kage Building**

**Hallway**

* * *

His steps carried him silently across the corridors of the tall building. He had thought he was going to stay in his office but something like this couldn't be missed. He knew he was a sadist, he didn't try to deny the fact, but being here at this time would let the people know he 'cared' for them and that they should turn to him for their problems.

He saw the doorway from the shadows. He watched as a seemingly shadow entered the room and then exited the room within a matter of minutes. He clung back into the shadows even more as he watched an assistant to the man inside the room go in approximately ten minutes after the shadow had slunk out. He waited only a moment before he heard the anguished cry of the man before the man came running out crying to the city that the newly appointed kage was murdered.

He smiled sadistically and slunk away in the shadows to approach the area from a different direction to not draw any attention to himself, as he was trying to gain favor among the people by showing them he cared for the people of this wretched city.

* * *

**Hehe, love all the plots I have going on and the next one comes up next chapter. And I will tell you many of you may not be happy with it either, but it will be okay. yeah! hope that was a good chapter for you and it was long.**

**okay let me also clear something up. i was looking for the kage's name for Amegakure, but seeing as how pein was in control they haven't had a kage so for future reference it's just going to be kage. kapish? kapish.  
**

**_Next Chapter: Tsunade gets angry, Aftermath of the kage's assassination and who is the man that was spying on the death? Sasuke and Sakura talk, again, even more secrets revealed, and the deciding of the new kage of Rain._**

**_Hope the chapter sounds good. _**

**Update: i will try for saturday but this weekend is going to be hectic, so if not then i will try for sunday or monday. lets just see what happens shall we, but i will try to get one up on Saturday.**

**i now give you the opportunity to review and let me know what you think because i appreciate feed back.**

**yoyo  
**


	19. Chapter 18: Troubling News

**Here is the update i said i would give out today. **

**_Also, i know that in the manga, there is no kage of amegakure and that is because pein was the leader but the political system for rain will be discussed lightly in this. this is after pein died._  
**

**thanks for all the reviews, alerts and favorites, it means a lot.**

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy the chapter.**

Hint: pay attention to the surname of a person. this is the chapter that begins a new plot twist to the story. and i have a feeling some people might not be very happy with me after this.

**Enjoy the chapter still**

* * *

**Chapter 18**

**Troubling News  
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* * *

  
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* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

* * *

The files were extensive, ranging from the least important detail of one person to the most important detail. Each file had the person's picture clipped to the file with the papers below. It held all the person's information, including, family members, skills of both strength and weakness, along with a full detailed account of them and how they perform on missions. Some of the folders even included a mission report or two.

Some of the files were more detailed than others, like Narutos, Sasukes, Sakuras, Kakashi', and others. The biggest folder of course was Sakuras, since she had lived with them. But Sasuke's folder was close behind since he too was at one point helping out the rebels to achieve their goals. She read and re-read through each file, as they all had individual notes for each person.

But what bothered her was how the files could be this extensive and have gotten out of Konoha? She could only remember a few times when the Daimyo was actually here. Was that when the files were able to get handed over. The files themselves seemed to be in immaculate shape, meaning they hadn't been there for very long. She was just glad that they hadn't been destroyed in the fire. But did the rebel leaders have this information, and if they did how would they use it?

Spreading all the files out before her she took in all the names trying to figure out the connection that might be linked between all of them. Most of the files were of the nine rookies who took the chunin exam together, as well Team Gai and then Sai's file. The only thing that would make sense was that these were the files of all the up and coming shinobi, but there were also the files on the families with special traits and jutsu.

This was getting bad, worse than it had been. She could handle that there was a rat in Konoha and in the Fire Country, there were always informants in every country, but the _files_. The files, that she couldn't deal with. Konoha had been so exposed to the enemy, and she didn't even want to think about what else they might know now, but she did because if she didn't it would jeopardize their chances of winning this war.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Kage Building**

* * *

He made it a point to walk around to the other side of the building so he could look like an innocent bystander to the whole ordeal. The people after learning of such a tragic event would came crawling to him to help them survive and he would help them survive. He would gain the loyalty of the shinobi and after they got used to him and trusted him, he would attack the Fire Country.

Walking steadily he entered the building to practically see a mad house of people swarming around the place. He put on a mask of concern as he continued to walk into the building. His eyes darted around at the distraught people that helped serve their kage, which had only been kage for just over a year. After Pein had died, the people decided to have a Kage and that was what they got.

"Kenji-sama!" a man near him cried.

"Ryou-san, what has happened?" He feigned concern, walking towards the man.

"It's terrible, the Kage has been assassinated. Ikaru, walked into his office to find him dead!" the man cried out.

"Hasegawa-sama is dead?" he asked incredulously. "How can this be? Where is Ikaru-san?" the distraught man pointed him in the direction of the man. Kenji walked swiftly to where the man was sitting with his hands covering his face.

"Ikaru-san?" Kenji asked and the man looked up.

"Kenji-sama!" the man let out a small howl. "What are we going to do? I didn't do anything, I swear I didn't." the man got to his feet before Kenji.

"Calm down Ikaru." he cajoled. "Everything will be fine. I don't blame you. We will get to the bottom of this. No blame will be put upon you. Hasegawa-sama, placed great trust in you, you would never betray him." Kenji magnified the man. " I will talk with the council and get everything straightened out." he patted the distressed man on the back, before ascending the stairwell to meet with the council, who he was sure was already starting to meet.

He was correct, as he made his way to the higher floors he could see the gathering of the several councilors and elders of the village gathering themselves together. As he approached several of the members gave him acknowledgment and welcomed him into the chambers to begin the discussion of the recent events.

With a voice speaking the councilors and elders quieted down to begin the proeedings.

"This is an unfortunate event that has fallen upon Amegakure. Our newly appointed kage has been assassinated." The older man spoke.

"Already the village is going into chaos. This disruption of the political system will not be stood for. I have already called upon ANBU of this village to investigate the death of our leader. But until then we need to regroup ourselves and call for a new leader." Murmurs rippled through the men at the large table.

"Does anyone have any suggestions of who should lead us next?" the man whispered among themselves trying to determine for themselves who should be the next kage.

"I would like to nominate Furusawa Kenji."

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Uchiha Compound**

* * *

Though the ceiling wasn't that fascinating the bed was quite comfortable, making him decide to stay on the bed for a while, that and the fact that he wasn't sure if Sakura was ready to see him yet. He had seen the hurt in her eyes when he told her the truth and though a part of him had told him not to tell her his conscious knew that part of their relationship, was based on deception and manipulation on his part.

Rolling his head to the side he could see the red letters of the clock reading half past five and on cue his stomach decided to growl indicating that he needed some food. But he wasn't sure if the kitchen was stocked. Who knew how long ago they had redone the compound and surely they wouldn't waste the time to put food into a place where no one was living at.

The incessant grumbling from his stomach forced him to get off the large bed and walk downstairs to explore the kitchen. As he expected the fridge was empty as it wasn't even turned on yet. Opening the cupboards he saw the same bare shelves. Groaning he knew he would have to go out and get dinner and food supplies to actually live here and he did have the money Tsunade gave him.

Going out the door, and locking it he made his way towards the entrance of the compound. He had no way to reach Kakashi or Naruto so he would just go out. Stepping out of the compound gates he saw the bumbling blond ninja coming towards him. He stopped and waited for the blond to come to him.

"Sasuke-teme!" the blond yelled in a high tone and Sasuke stuffed his hands into his pants.

"dobe." he said nonchalantly.

"Baa-chan said you can't go out alone, so I decided to come over." Naruto said coming to a halt next to the raven haired man.

"Let's go then." Sasuke said stoically moving towards the main part of town, figuring out where he was going to eat.

The two walked with each other into the market area. Sasuke looked around looking at what he needed to buy but not actually buying just yet. He wanted to go to the hospital before he went back to the compound later on that night. He droned the dobe's voice out as the loud mouth kept rambling on about complete nonsense, at least to him.

Sasuke made Naruto follow him into a small sushi shop for dinner, as the prospect of ramen was no where near as tempting as the smell of sushi this particular night. The two sat and ate the meal in silence and afterwards Sasuke ordered another plate of sushi but asked to take it to go with him. The man nodded and a few minutes later the two were headed to the hospital.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hospital**

* * *

She was sure the nurse was getting tired of every time coming into the room the nurse would find her crying. It was a hard concept to swallow, that all Sasuke wanted was to find a way to make Daisuke angrier at him, to humiliate him enough to hopefully kill himself so Sasuke could reap the rewards of having her. It made her stomach squeeze with fury and a little disgust.

She should have known that she should control her feelings for Sasuke. There was always pain when he was involved and she was always the one getting hurt and feeling the pain. He had said things had changed but how had they really? She didn't even really want to think about what would have happened if the fire had never happened.

Would Daisuke still be alive? Would she have been poisoned? It was a complicated matter and Sasuke had just complicated it even more than before. She wanted so badly to be angry at him. Angry for manipulating her against herself, just for his pleasures. Angry for making love with her and the possibility that it meant _nothing_ to him, but only a fun screw, to make her husband angry.

She screamed inside her head in frustration. It was just so....she couldn't even find the words to describe it. It made her mad, it was the reason why she had made him leave earlier. She just couldn't think while he was around. He always seemed to make her forgo her own decisions and thinking just so he could get what he want. She became so indecisive around him and though the things he made her feel were great. The freedom to be selfish like she had been that night. But with that selfish freedom there were consequences and she would have to pay for the selfishness of her acts.

But at least she was back in Konoha. Though she had enjoyed being out at the estate, where everything had happened she was now back home with her friends and family. She knew that here maybe she could start again, a life without the duties of being the Daimyo's wife. She could find the real love that was meant to be and that she could be or could be without the Uchiha.

She pushed away the plate of food from her lap. She couldn't eat the hospital food. It smelled quite unappetizing and tasted just as bad. Moving the tray onto the counter near her bed she placed her hands in her lap and leaned back against the propped up pillows. Her mind was confused and right now she didn't even know what to do.

The sound of the door sliding open jarred her from her thoughts. Her head swiveled to look at the person that was coming into her room. At first she couldn't see but then the silhouette of a man was in the doorway. She watched as the man entered his face still covered by the shadows of the approaching dark room. The man continued to walk forwards until he was in the light.

"Sasuke, what are you doing here?" She asked leaning up a bit. He held forward a small wrapped parcel.

"Dinner." he replied, no emotion apparent in his voice. He walked over to the bed and gave her the parcel that held the sushi in it.

"What did you get?" she asked eying the package.

"Sushi." she smiled at him, as he sat down in the chair next to her bed. He had told Naruto that he needed to speak with Sakura privately so the blond would be back later to walk him back to the compound.

"Where are you staying?" she asked taking a bite.

"Uchiha Compound. They re-did it." she nodded savoring a bite of the sushi. It was way better than the hospital food she had been given.

"Sasuke, this morning-"

"Don't. I deserved it." he told her solemnly.

"You may have deserved it but we still need to talk." she told him sternly yet gently. He nodded in resignation. "Sasuke, why?" her voice cracked.

"Why do you always play with my feelings?" he looked down at the floor. "Why do you always make me feel like a little girl, yet a woman at the same time? How do you do it?"

"I don't know." he truthfully spoke. He glanced up at her face and he could see the hurt that was there.

"But what we did, was real. Those nights were real." he could hear the tears start by her sniffling.

"Why do you always do this to me? I want to hate you, but somehow I just can't hate you." she cried reaching out for his hand, which he took into his own. They say there for a few minutes not talking just reveling in each other's presence.

"Has Tsunade-shishou talked to you yet?"

"Aa."

"What did she say to you?"

"I can only be at the Compound or here, and can't go out without Naruto or Kakashi." she nodded. "and once you get out, I can't be near you." he heard her short intake of breath.

"Why?"

"You know why." he replied and she did. They already had an affair and until anything could be determined they would have to be separated from each other.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Interrogation Building**

* * *

The tall man made a hand gesture and the man that had been tied in the chair, the ties were released and the man slumped forward being caught by a guard. The interrogation had gone excellently and they had gotten the information they needed but it was still a surprise at what the man had told them about the rebel group especially about the leader.

Though the process of extracting the information had taken longer than Ibiki would have thought, the injections had worked. They all knew Danzo wouldn't have freely given the information through the regular discourse of interrogation, so it was a longer process including injections from the medic, mind warping from Inoichi and very persuasive words while the man was under the influence of the injections to loosen his tongue.

Ibiki watched as the man was practically dragged away from the area of interrogation. He could sense that Inoichi had come to stand beside him.

"Hokage-sama won't be pleased with the information we are going to tell her." he deeply spoke.

"No one ever likes the information we bring to them after we get it." Ibiki noted back to the blond haired man.

"True, true, but do you think it is true?"

"I don't know. We will do some searching before we tell Hokage-sama of our information. We don't want to make any mistakes especially right now."

"I agree. Where do we start?"

"Archives."

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Kage Building**

**Council Room**

* * *

The men in the room gasped at who was just nominated for the role of their beloved kage. Most of the gazes flickered to the said man, who was looking as calm and collected as ever, as he watched the proceedings with slight interest yet deep concern for the people of Amegakure.

"Though I can understand why you would want someone like him, I don't know if he is the best choice." an older man noted. "He isn't even from the Rain Country. Though I admit he has become a great asset to the political system here, I just don't know."

"I can agree with Fumio-san." Another stated. "I agree that Furusawa-san has helped this country, but don't we want a kage that is from this country."

"I see no problem with this. Furusawa-san is the most qualified for the position. He was only denied in the Fire Country as he was the second-born. He has all the status he needs, and it was the Fire Country that sent him to us. Why not have him be the Kage? It might help relations with the country, especially after what the Akatsuki Organization did." another man spoke in his loud voice.

"His brother is the Daimyo now, that helps relations already." another man spoke and was about to continue when he was interrupted.

"I have news about that." Kenji spoke, the councilors turning to him. "I received word yesterday that there was a fire at the Estate, all died, except my brother's wife." again the hall was filled with murmurings.

"Then shouldn't you go back to the Fire Country and take the role of Daimyo." the younger man shook his head.

"No. I no longer have ties to the Fire Country. I was sent here because my family did not want me. I am loyal to the Rain Country and if I do receive the title of Kage, I will do everything to do what's best for the people of Ame and the country." Kenji spoke calmly and collectedly. The men around the room nodded and began to whisper things to each other.

"Kenji, could you please leave the room for a moment to let us discuss a few things and then we will call you back in." the main elder spoke.

"Of course." the man lifted himself from the chair and exited the room, feeling all the stares of the men in the room on him.

He was called back in only ten minutes later and instead of sitting down at his chair he dutifully stood behind the chair to await the decision the councilors had made. They all looked at him, examining him in a way. Their eyes told him that though many may have been against the decision whatever they chose was a good choice.

"Furusawa Kenji, the councilors in this room have decided that you should become the next Kage for Amegakure." The man nodded his dark head.

"With the enlightenment of your families death and the only living one is the wife, we expect you to fulfill a clan duty and marry the woman. We will send word to Konoha immediately to let them know of the circumstances that have occurred." the men around the room nodded their heads in approval of the marriage.

"Also since the village is heading into chaos we would like to instate you as kage as soon as possible."

"When would that be?"

"Today. The councilors have the authority to make you the new kage. As soon as we have settled down the people enough it will then be done." Kenji nodded.

"You may leave and prepare." the elder spoke.

And Kenji did just that. After bowing to the men he took his leave of the room giving off a smirk after closing the door to the room. It was just how it was supposed to go. They would make him the kage. He would need to send messages to the others immediately letting them know of the dealings and then deal with Konoha.

He bypassed the chaos of the people below and exited through a rear door and made his way back to his office in another building. Opening the door to the room he stepped inside and made his way over to his desk. Opening a drawer and moving several files aside he pulled out a particular file. Laying it on his desk he opened it and looked at the picture attached to the corner. Haruno Sakura.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Archives**

**Night**

* * *

The two men looked at the folder with disbelief, though it didn't show on their faces. It was true, what Danzo had told them about the Daimyo's family was true. It was hard to believe when they had first heard it but the archives didn't lie. The truth was sitting right there in front of them. They closed the folder and slipped it back in its place hidden behind other files, in a place where no one was sure to find it.

It was true, but why didn't anyone know about it? If anyone would have known it would have caused serious trouble among the Daimyo and Konoha. It wasn't rare for a woman to have twins, just more unlikely and usually when it happened it was fine, but when twin sons were born to the Daimyo, then it became an issue. There would be the conflicts between the sons, which is why the Daimyo sent a son away.

The file had told them the truth. The Daimyo's wife had born twins, though not identical it wouldn't be that hard to mistake the identity of one for the other. Daisuke was the elder of the two having been born roughly ten minutes before Kenji, the younger. The boys had lived together for the first few years of life before Kenji was sent to the Rain country to live with his aunt and uncle that were residing there. It was meant to keep him away from the public eye of the Fire Country and so that no one would know.

The two looked at each other knowing that they needed to inform the Hokage immediately. They knew it would cause even more problems now that Daisuke was dead and Sakura was the only survivor of the fire at the estate and especially that Kenji was a politician in the Rain Country. The two exited the archives and made their way towards the Hokage's office.

Knocking politely on the door they were granted entrance. The two stood before the honey haired woman as she continued to look over files and journals. She looked at them for a moment telling them to talk before turning her head back down to the files.

"The interrogation took longer than we anticipated, but we received valuable knowledge. There is apparently a leader in Rain that is a part of the rebel group. He is stationed higher up." Inoichi told the woman. "however we also discovered that the man is rela-"

"Hokage-sama, we just received to messages!" a runner burst into the room. "The Hidden Village in the Grass have been attacked and were the Kage of the Rain was assassinated. They have already chosen a new Kage and they chose a man named Furusawa Kenji." the blonds head snapped up.

"What?!"

* * *

**Please don't kill me yet. i know that some people won't be very happy with what i just did, but i kind of need to take care of the rebels and all so i thought it was a genius idea, but maybe not. and just in case some people are a little confused i will clarify a few things**

**- Kenji, if you think back to the past chapters was a name that the rebel prisoner brought up as one of the upper men, so he is a rebel, but no one knows in Ame, except like two people, one of which you have already met and you will meet the other one a little later.  
**

**-Kenji's surname is Furusawa, he is the younger brother of Daisuke, and what i did was to make the plot more interesting is that we can't forget about the rebels and how they need to be stopped so there is a reason for this. **

**-also why doesn't anyone really know about kenji. in some countries history, if twins were born to the royal family the eldest would remain to the public eye while the younger son would in a sense disappear. people wouldn't know about the younger son, so that is why no one knows about Kenji. **

**-also in later chapters it will explain Kenji's rise in the political system.  
**

**If you have any questions please ask me. i will answer them. **

**_Next Chapter: A little insight to Kenji's thinking, Tsunade's reaction to the news and other things happen in konoha. some sasu/saku, more dealings in rain, and sakura receives the news. _**

**Update: Monday or Tuesday, looking towards monday, i need to finish up chapter 22, but i am almost done. **

**Please continue to poll, Forced is in the lead so far.**

**please review and let me know what you think.**

**yoyo  
**


	20. Chapter 19: At What Price

**Here's the next chapter of the story. so glad that you guys and gals actually liked the plot twist i threw in there. i was a little worried for a moment. **

**Thanks for all the reviews, alerts and favorites, they mean a lot to authors**

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy  
**

* * *

**Chapter 19**

**At What Price  
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* * *

**Rain Country**

**Kage Building**

**Kage Office**

**Night**

* * *

It felt better than he thought it would feel to be practically the _most_ powerful man in the entire Rain Country. The office was set higher than his last one so he had a larger range of view from this office than his other office of the city he considered magnificent. He almost wanted to laugh. Everything had really been too easy. He thought it would be a little while before the councilors choose a new kage but this was perfectly fine with him. The more time he had as kage, the more the people would trust him in time.

He had heard that the bird had been sent hours before to Konoha and that by now they should have already received the word that he was kage as well as the news that the Village Hidden in the Grass was close to falling and Waterfall was not very far behind. Everything was falling almost too perfectly into place for him. There was only one place he knew he was going to have trouble with. Konoha.

He knew that once the Hokage made the relation between him and the Daimyo it would be a hard thing for her to send her apprentice over to him. But it would be a good thing for him, because if he was correct about something, it was that her apprentice, Furusawa Sakura was having an affair with the one and only Uchiha Sasuke.

Though he knew that getting Sakura over here was going to be the hard part, she would bring more than just her. She would bring the Uchiha that he had lost control over to him as well. He knew where the man's loyalty lay and it lied with that _woman_ that would soon be his wife, after being his sister-in-law. He was also sure that she was starting to figure out about the rebels. How would she feel if she figured out that the man that would marry her, was the one that called for her child to die?

He also knew how precious she was to her teacher, the Hokage, which meant as soon as he had her, he would have Konoha in the palm of his hand. If they wanted to keep their little cherry blossom alive they would have to do exactly what he wanted, that is after he got her here. That would be the other problem. Would Konoha be willing to give over the girl a second time? He sat in the chair that was with the kage's desk. Swiveling it around he looked out the window. Everything would work out though, it always did.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

**Night**

* * *

She could feel her eye twitching, which meant that she was extremely pissed about something. It wasn't the fact that the Kage of the Rain was dead, it wasn't that the Hidden Village in the Grass was under attack, it was the freakin' name that was said. The freaking last name of the freaking new kage of the Rain. The Furusawa, that she had heard.

The name wasn't that common especially in countries outside the Fire, and if she connected the dots right it could very well mean only one thing. That the dang Daimyo had lied to her. Lied to her about the truth about his family. His only son, was Daisuke, but where then did the name come from? Family? Hopefully it was a just coincidence, but she highly doubted it.

"Did you just say Furusawa?" She asked the messenger who suddenly became quite nervous.

"H..ha..hai." he stuttered out, not wanting to gain the wrath of the woman. Amber eyes shot to the two men.

"Spill." she barked.

"The Furusawa he is speaking of is indeed related to the Daimyo and Furusawa Daisuke." Ibiki informed her. Her teeth ground together. This was ridiculous. She _finally_ gets her apprentice back just to be informed that some raving lunatic, most likely, from Rain, claims to be the now new Rain Kage and carries the last name of Furusawa. She held her hand out, silently demanding the note, which the messenger gladly gave her.

Amber eyes read over the note, not missing any details. On one hand her fingers were clenched tightly, showing the whites of her knuckles and making her long red fingernails bite into her skin, while the other hand crumpled the note up to a small wad of paper. Her temper already starting to rise from what she just read.

The note stated the death of the Kage of Rain, the chaos that ensued afterwards, the deciding of a new kage, this Furusawa Kenji, and their demand that Furusawa Sakura, his brother's wife, be given to him as his own wife, seeing as it was a clan's responsibility that when one brother dies the other brother, if there is one, should take the widow to wife and in this case sister-in-law.

This was not good on so _many_ levels. First she would have her apprentice adamantly refusing mist likely due to the second issue which was the raven haired Uchiha, that had his sights clearly planted on Sakura. Third the blond idiot that was against her marrying in the first place, and lastly herself personally. She didn't even want to think about giving her apprentice to a man she had never met, heck never even heard of.

"Send a message back, I need to speak with the Furusawa Kenji, before anything happens." The messenger nodded and remained stock still.

"NOW!" she yelled at him, and the man took off out of the door. Amber darted to the two stock still figures waiting in the room. She leaned back in her chair, with an air of anger around her.

"Now what were you saying?" if they hadn't been the men they were they might have been slightly intimidated by the busty blond.

"Furusawa Kenji is a political man in the Rain Country. Danzo didn't know if he had anything major to do with the rebels or not. Apparently no one knows the names of the leaders outright, but the man is related to the Furusawas that were in the Fire Country. He was the Daimyo's son and Daisuke's brother, unknown."

"Anything else on the rebels?"

"Danzo was the one that passed the files along to the old Daimyo and Jiro. He said most of the files were given when the Daimyo was spending large amounts of time here when they were here six months ago for the peace talks." Tsunade cursed loudly. "He's also known about the plans for several years also. The Daimyo approached him even before the attacks started, knowing that Danzo wanted to see the downfall of Konoha, he was also going to be given compensation for his actions."

"Do you know what the compensation was?"

"Power, over this part of the Fire Country. The rebels would have divided up the lands into smaller areas, sectors, where they would have trustworthy men from their group lead the area, but there would ultimately be one leader."

"So we don't know if this Kenji is part of the rebel leaders?"

"No." she cursed again. Interrogating Danzo had seemingly done nothing, except knowing who this Furusawa Kenji was but even then it was only so helpful. Things were just becoming too complicated.

Thinking now to the attack on Grass and Waterfall she dismissed the two interrogators and called for Shizune. The woman entered and was informed to call together two ANBU teams, one to head to Grass and the other to head to Waterfall. If they could help even a little it would be best. But now everything seemed to be falling apart, and she still had to tell Sakura about the remaining Furusawa.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hospital**

**Night**

* * *

He remained there though he probably should have gone back to the Uchiha Compound. But he just couldn't, he didn't _want_ to leave her side. It was already drawing closer by the minute to when he would be separated from her for a time. He would take the time he had to be with her. Even if it was just watching her sleep and recover from her ordeal.

Her chest rose and fell in synchronized movements, as her breathing had regained its normalcy, after the poison and the smoke inhalation. She had also been tired again from their long talk, well it was more her talking and crying but he felt slightly guilty because it was him who had caused her to be like that.

He shifted in the chair again trying to find a more comfortable position to watch her sleep and rest. The noise that came from the door when it opened made him look over his shoulder for a moment before looking back at Sakura. He heard the footsteps, light indicating it was a woman, approach the bed. Hearing the footsteps stop his eyes flickered and saw the shape of who was surely Yamanaka Ino.

"I didn't expect you here." she voiced quietly and he knew it had a double meaning. "Did you bring her here?" she asked him.

"Aa." he said quietly.

"Arigatou. I missed my friend." she stopped talking for a moment but he could hear her open mouth breaths. "Did you save her?" he only nodded this time. "Arigatou again." she spoke quietly. From the corner of his eye he could see her looking at him before she turned her head to her friend.

"Looks like you win forehead. You got the man of your dreams. Good job, but at what price?" she talked to her friend, ignoring the Uchiha in the room.

He watched as she came closer to the bed and bending down placed a small kiss on her friend's forehead, that she always teased her about. He could see her whisper something into her ear before pulling away and after giving the Uchiha a last glance and a small smile she too left the room to let the two remain in their silence.

Closing his onyx eyes he thought about what Ino had said about getting the man of her dreams, but at what price. He had gotten her into bed with him, because of manipulation, but then it turned into something even more. He had misguided her in the beginning, and now they would both pay the price of not being able to see each other, to _feel_, to _want_, it was all going away, because of what they had done.

She would have to pay the price for the deaths of Daisuke, and all of the people out at the estate. From what he learned from Tsunade she was already starting to figure out what was happening out there and how someone from the estate was helping the rebels gain information, she paid the price for almost her life, this last time, and the life of her child weeks before.

Amber eyes watched as the Uchiha watched over her apprentice. She figured her apprentice would be asleep but she came down just to make sure, so that if she wasn't they could get this talk over with, but seeing them now she wasn't sure if she could tell them what was really going on now. She had seen Ino leave the hospital right before she had entered and something about the girl's mood told her something had gone on.

Turning away from the window that let some peek into the room she walked away and went into her office that was in the hospital. Sitting down in the chair she opened a drawer and drew out the sake bottle hidden inside. Taking the first drink and letting the fiery taste run down her throat she terribly wished that nothing like this had ever happened.

She would inevitably have to tell her apprentice of the new marriage situation that was currently pending. She would rather tell Sakura herself then wait for the man to get here and spring it upon her himself. It would shock her apprentice into a fit and then who knows what might happen. She had remained docile the last time she was forced into a marriage, she was sure Sakura wouldn't be that docile this time around.

And then the Uchiha, was the other major problem. She knew that he wouldn't just stand idly by seeing his lover get tossed from one person to another in marriage and in other terms. He would most likely go into a rage and commit a mass murder like his brother. She laughed dryly at the thought of the younger Uchiha doing something to the effect.

But if the man was in contact with the rebels they could use this as a great asset to them, if the Uchiha would agree and help them. But on the other hand if the man was part of the rebel leaders, the Uchiha had been working with the rebels, meaning they could use Sakura against and even against them. She would be a leverage that would control Konoha.

Taking another drink and calmed herself only by thinking that Konoha hadn't yet agreed to the terms meaning Sakura was now Konoha's. She almost felt bad for thinking of Sakura like that, in a way. Sakura in all this was merely an object to obtain victory by any means possible, and they were all gambling on her to help them, in some way or another.

But right now she had decided that she wouldn't tell Sakura just yet. She would wait until she received a message back from the pompous new kage of the Rain. That would also delay the Uchiha from going on a rampage and talking some sense into him before the man actually got here if the man actually came to see and talk with her and Sakura.

They would also have to make sure the man, Kenji, didn't see Sasuke either. If the man was with the rebels, he would immediately recognize the Uchiha, but if he was well trained with emotions, he wouldn't show it and just look for a moment before going back to his regular business in Konoha, but he would know where the Uchiha was and who he was connected with.

Picking up a file she had requested that be brought to the office she flipped it open. Looking at the picture in the top left corner of the page she slipped it out from under the paper clip and brought it before her at eye level. She noticed the similarities between him and Daisuke, and why should she not, they were twins after all.

He had the dark hair, not black like Daisuke's but a deep dark chocolate brown color. His eyes were a darker blue as well rather than the lighter eyes Daisuke had. The man didn't have the patrician features that Daisuke had but was rather a smoother looking face. It wasn't round or chubby, but he just didn't have the sharp features his brother did.

Dropping the picture she looked at the now blank spot in front of her for a moment before looking back down and studying the file before her. Trained shinobi, jonin level. Was trained in both Earth and Water jutsus. Was currently in political standing within the Rain Country. It said nothing of his family life when growing up or who even raised the boy.

His political standing however was excellent. Being a shinobi until he was twenty then he turned his attentions towards helping the people of Ame. It would have been right around the time when Pein was defeated and Ame would soon get its first Kage after Pein's rule over the city. He had helped the city come out of the chaos Pein had left it in and had helped the first kage get into power, gladly taking the seat behind the man. The people seemed to love and admire him and it was probably the reason he was chosen as the next kage.

Flipping through the rest of the folder she saw no reason to even suspect that the man had anything to do with the rebels but the notion was there. She had to keep the possibility that the man was a part of the rebels. One of the leaders was said to have resided in Rain and if she wasn't mistaken in Kakashi's report from the overheard conversation, there would be a man working in Rain to take over the shinobi part of the system.

If the man did show up she would have to take extra precaution with the man around and at least Danzo was in a cell rotting until punishment was decided, so the two couldn't even think about getting together. But it was all speculation on her part. This man may not even be part of the rebels, but one could never be too careful in situations like this. Family seemed to follow each other, and it would partly make sense if the Daimyo's second son, the son no one knew about, was involved in this somehow.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Kage Office**

**Mid-Day**

* * *

He heard the door open and the light footfalls of the female approach him. When he heard the footfalls stop near him he opened an eye and looked up at the woman above him. Her long dark hair was braided in the back as she stood to the side of the chair wearing a short skirt and a strapped shirt, looking out the window like he was supposedly doing. Swiveling the chair he was now sitting so he was facing her side.

Bringing his hand up he pulled her effortlessly to sit on his lap. He wished she would get the notion that whenever she came into the room she could just automatically sit on his lap like he preferred. Just lucky enough for her since she seemed to detest it inwardly he would be getting another woman that would do what she was doing.

"What news today?" he asked running a hand up and down her thigh closest to him.

"Sato just took over the Hidden Village in Grass. He is waiting for Akira to finish taking over the Waterfall village before moving on to the Village Hidden in the Clouds."

"Excellent!" everything was working out perfect. "And Ichiro?"

"Nothing as of yet. Last report said most of the shinobi easily gave in. They are just waiting for you to tell them to move in." she informed trying to act indifferent about the situation.

"Perfect." he growled taking the strap of her shirt off her shoulder before kissing her upper shoulder where the strap once was. She shuddered.

"Please....stop." she whimpered, trying to get away from him.

"Now, now Akiko, we made a deal." he reminded her grasping her thigh in a bruising manner. "I keep your father alive and well, for the time being, in exchange for you..._helping_ me, and I keep you as a reminder for him to not make a mistake. Isn't that right?" he told her his unoccupied hand coming to grip the back of her neck. She nodded hurriedly. "Good, now go tell him to start his persuading." he shoved her off of him and she crumpled to the floor. "And I expect to see you tonight." he barked at her as she got up. "Is that understood?" she nodded and left the room to deliver his new message, puling the strap back over her shoulder.

He turned back to face the city that he now ruled over. It was a great feeling, knowing that the wench was doing her job. That was how he had come to get such a high position. The girl had caught his attention when he had started vying for political interests three years before and he was never one to do things the clean way.

Her father was also a politician who was close to the new kage that would be chosen. At the time the rebels were already starting to move forward in their plans for power. Her father was a man that held great respect in the council, if he could get the man to help him gain the trust of the other councilors it would be easy to get the shinobi to follow him without question. So he found out all about the girl, realized her brother was actually in support of the rebels and when the time came he dove in to get what he wanted.

The old man would help him gain the favor of the councilors and help the shinobi follow him without question, but the catch was his daughter. Kenji would have the girl serve him as a personal messenger, among other things, as leverage for the man to do his job and if the girl didn't do what she was told her father would simply get hurt, and she didn't want that because they were the only family they had left, since her brother had died. It was a win-win situation for him, he got the favor that he needed and a bed companion when he needed one.

She would still do her duties if he got Sakura, though. The bed chamber duties might decrease but the other duties would still be the same for her with the threat of her father getting hurt hanging over her head.

He heard the door open again and this time swiveled all the way around so his hands were resting on the desk that was before him. The brown haired messenger entered into the room and stopped several feet short of the wooden desk where his newly appointed kage sat staring back at him with a lethal look in his eyes.

"Kenji-sama, a message from Konoha." the older man nodded for the messenger to continue. "The Godaime Hokage wishes to speak with you personally before she will make a decision concerning Furusawa Sakura. She would also like to meet to discuss other unstated matters with you." the boy got out in a hurry.

Kenji looked away from the boy and towards the desk. He knew that getting the girl wouldn't have been that easy and the Hokage wasn't dumb. How could the grand daughter of the Shodai Hokage be anything but dumb. He should have seen the meeting coming from her. At least it would give him some personal bearings about Konoha.

"Send a message back, replying that I will come to Konoha and that I will be there by the end of the week, and that I look forward to our meeting." he told the man professionally before shooing the man out of the door. It was just a little wrench in the plan overall but it wasn't anything too serious.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hospital**

**Afternoon**

* * *

She practically dreaded this moment and the only comfort she had was the fact that Kakashi and Shizune were in the room with her as she looked upon the illegal lovers. Sakura seemed to be picking back up her perkiness as her eyes shone a bit brighter than they had the last time she had been in the room with her. But she knew once she gave the news the light would be gone.

The Uchiha, she knew, knew something was going on and by the way he held his body he was on full alert for the news. His eyes already seemed to hold the anger and fire she figured would be there once she gave the news. Shizune already knew what was going on and Kakashi was just leaning against the counter, his lazy attitude somewhat infuriating her. How could he be so calm?

"I have received some news last night about a new development." she began, trying to act professional about everything. "The Kage of the Rain was assassinated yesterday morning in his office." the only reaction was a raised eyebrow by Kakashi and a slight gasp by Sakura. "The message I received, informed me that the Rain Nation has already chosen a new kage-" she was cut off.

"Shishou, why does this concern us?" Sakura asked skeptically.

"I'm getting there. I would have thought nothing of it as well, but the kage's name is Furusawa Kenji, he is the second son of the Daimyo and brother to Daisuke, and the council in Rain wants you." her finger and bright red nail were pointed towards Sakura, "to marry him."

* * *

**There's the chapter, hoped it was good. i know you are probably asking what's up with Kenji and the girl, but you will learn more about her in time, in the next few chapters.**

_**Next Chapter: A little Kenji at the beginning, Sakura's and Sasuke's reaction to the news and the ensuing conversation, more about the girl with Kenji and Kenji arrives in Konoha**_

_**Please continue to poll**_

** Next Update: Wednesday or Thursday**

**please review. :)**

**yoyo  
**


	21. Chapter 20: Not a Matter of Choice

**I am back with the update. **

**Thanks for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites. i really appreciate them**

**Disclaimer: DNOn**

**Enjoy the chapter  
**

* * *

**Chapter 20**

**Not a Matter of Choice  
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* * *

  
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* * *

**Rain Country**

**Building**

**Sleeping Quarters**

**Night**

* * *

Removing the covers he had over him he pulled on the boxers that were next to the bed, leaving his sleeping partner to continue her doze, for a moment. Removing himself from the bed he walked over to the shoji door and went into the other room that was adjoined to his own sleeping room. Sitting down at the desk that was near a large window, he switched on the desk lamp and he once again opened the folder he had been keeping in there since he had heard his older brother had gotten married.

Snapping the folder open he gazed at the picture for a moment before looking down at the contents of the folder including several notes and messages from informants about the person. It was hard to believe that a woman like her could be saddled so easily by his brother, but the informant that was from Konoha had informed him that she was a very selfless person, and only went through with the marriage in prospects of keeping peace.

He inwardly scoffed at her seemingly interest in the peace. Of course she was a medic, and only a medic would want peace. They trained hard but fought to let the living live and to bring the dead back from the grave. It was also what would make her break under him. He was sure he would get his way with this and her.

His plan was perfect, there was nothing Konoha could say that would deny him to have her. He was sure they would use the possibility that she was pregnant with his brother's child, or maybe even the Uchiha's, but who better to take of the child than his own uncle that would marry its mother. There was _nothing_ they could say to stop him from getting what he wanted.

And after he had the girl, it would be another threatening situation. If she cooperated with him then Konoha might not be as badly damaged. Who would want to destroy such a village as Konoha? It was a highly advanced village and a large one at that, it would be a great advantage. And if Konoha didn't cooperate then he would threaten them with the blossom's life and he was sure that the Uchiha would not like that.

That the was the other good thing coming from this whole plan. He would get the Uchiha back under his thumb. He was sure that the Uchiha would be angry, perturbed even to find out what might be happening behind closed doors. It would make the Uchiha bend to his will, very easily. The blossom wouldn't get hurt if the Uchiha cooperated. It was overall a win-win situation for him and that was the way he liked them.

Snapping the folder shut just as he had opened it he began to realize that he was already getting almost sexually frustrated thinking about it. Getting up he switched the light off and began to walk back to his bed, removing his boxers just before climbing back onto the bed and awakened his sleeping partner to get rid of his frustrations.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hospital**

**Hours Earlier**

* * *

Her mouth was agape as she looked blankly at her sensei. She had just gotten rid of one and now another one was there trying to stake his claim on her. Her mouth had gone dry as she tried to speak to the now passive looking woman that she called shishou and hokage. Emerald eyes darted to the other figures before resting on Sasuke.

His dark aura was radiating off of him and she knew he was beyond displeased. He was probably thinking the same thing she was. One of the obstacles was gone and now another was showing up on top of the fact that she had the chance of being pregnant with Daisuke's or even his child. She saw him shift restlessly but remained silent, his eyes focused on nothing but white walls.

"Me?" she squeaked out at last, finding a voice somewhat. The honey haired woman nodded her head.

"I have requested that he come here to meet with me. I have looked through his files and have found nothing to show that he may be connected with the rebels. The only think is a first name, but there is unfortunately two other Kenji's besides himself that reside in the political area of the Rain Country."

"When is he coming?" Kakashi asked.

"Hopefully by the end of the week. He should have gotten my message today so an answer should be on it's way."

"What about Sasuke? If the man is a rebel Sasuke might recognize him as he has met with a rebel." the four pairs of eyes rested on the unmoving form of the Uchiha.

"Could you recognize the man you spoke with if you saw him?"

"Maybe." it was curt and icily cold.

"We have to keep you out of his view though. If it is a rebel he would recognize you as well and we can't have them knowing you are here. I do have an idea for a plan if the man is a rebel." the four looked at the blond woman.

"Go on." Kakashi stated, a scowl appearing under his mask.

"In any circumstance we let Sakura go with him back to Rain-"

"wait, wait wait." Sakura spoke. " I never once said I would agree to this." She pointed out. "I have been yanked around and I _don't_ think I can do it again." Kakashi and Tsunade looked at each other.

"Sakura, you are the only one that can do this. We need to stop this conflict, war, whatever before it gets too out of hand, and we end up getting attacked. Besides it will only be a for a little while."

"And do you know what will happen in that little time? I won't subject myself to that." She huffed and crossed her arms.

"Sakura, let me re-phrase this and listen very closely." Tsunade hissed at her student making the student look back at her master with defiance written in her eyes. "This is not you have the option, it is a you _will_ do this. You _will_ go to Rain with the man. You _will _do what we need you to do, whether it be tending to his petty wounds or going to bed with him. Is that understood?" Sakura's emerald eyes narrowed but slowly she nodded her head.

"Good," Tsunade tutted "now that that is taken care of. Sakura will essentially play a double agent, by sending us information by using codes, messages that only we can detect. It would be preferable to have a report weekly." Sakura numbly nodded. "Now I can probably guess that if the man is a rebel he is going to try and use her against us or us against her. It's a natural thing to do and hopefully it won't come to that _if_ someone behaves." they all looked at the rosette woman, who again nodded numbly.

"That is the plan if he is a rebel, she will go regardless even if he is not, to still gather information on the other Kenjis." nods around the room.

"Good. Now I have other things that need to be attended to." she nodded in a departing gesture and left the room, heading back to the tower that held her other office.

Shizune walked out after her mentor and Kakashi left a few minutes later just watching his old students sit in utter and complete silent. He was sure both were feeling numb from what the Hokage had just told them. He couldn't blame them, they were just like a tragic romance novel. Both wanted each other but neither could have what the wanted. He squeezed Sasuke's shoulder before he left.

"Saku-" Sasuke tried speaking.

"Don't." she spoke. "not now." she turned her back to him and tried to nod off into sleep, everything coming crashing down on her.

* * *

**Night**

* * *

He hadn't left her, he had stayed by her bedside watching over her, making sure that her exterior didn't crack. When she had first turned her back to him he could tell she was silently sobbing, as he watched her shoulders shake but he couldn't bring himself to touch her, for if he did he didn't know where it might lead to knowing that again in a few short days he would lose her all over again, to the enemy.

He had been infuriated upon hearing that again she might have to go to another man's bed. That was the last place he wanted her, especially since it was in another country. The man he had talked too was smart and elusive. If it was the rebel, he was sure that he would use Sakura against him, so the man could regain control over their little agreement.

But he couldn't endanger Sakura that way. He had sworn his loyalty to her and only to her. He hadn't told Konoha that he was with them, he was....partnering, with them in a way. He got what he needed and they got what they needed. Though in the end it might turn out differently, he would cross that bridge when he came to it.

Hearing the ruffle of sheets he looked back at the bed to find Sakura on her side facing him, emerald eyes half closed and the tear streams were only visible when the moonlight touched them. He looked at her, and inwardly cursed himself, for what he didn't know, but he did. Just one glance at her and he was already fuming mad at what could and most likely would be happening.

"I'm sorry." she whispered gripping the sheets with her hands.

"Don't be." he told her. "It's not under your control." she nodded.

"Will you be here......when I get back?" she asked expectantly. He didn't reply for a moment. Would she get back after all of this? They would be sending her deep into enemy territory as an agent that would be married to a powerful man. Would the man even let her come back after all of this?

"Aa." he told her and she smiled. His one word answer had apparently given her some strength.

But even she had to realize that the chances of coming back were slim. With this 'mission' if she could call it that, there was a great possibility that she would stay in Rain, especially if the kage wasn't part of the rebel group. If the man was just the brother, and nothing more, she would live there for the rest of her life, and only in the recesses of her mind know what life might have been like if she would have been able to stay in Konoha, with her Uchiha.

They didn't talk after that, they just sat there in the room together just being near each other. Around midnight Sakura figured the Uchiha had fallen asleep, and all she did was watch him, memorizing the features she had dreamt of for years before he came to her. It would be hard for her to leave him when the time came but she would and then she would find a way to get back to him.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

**Mid Afternoon**

* * *

She had been perturbed when Sakura had outright flatly refused to be subjected to the workings of another political scheme. Though it hadn't been a huge surprise seeing as how she was nearly killed the last time she was involved with politics of the nature, but this time, it would deal with more than just being the Daimyo's wife, which she had been at the end, but the Kage's wife this time. She probably would have been perturbed as well if it had been her, but it wasn't.

She knew that the younger woman only wanted to stay in Konoha and keep the Uchiha strapped to her, but that was clearly impossible, seeing as the Uchiha was still not technically forgiven of his crimes, or rather decisions against Konoha. But she was glad that she hadn't said anything to the Uchiha while in the room, it could have possibly been deadly.

When she had stated who the council wanted as the wife, she immediately felt the angry spike of chakra that the Uchiha had let off, telling everyone that could feel it that he was royally pissed off by such a statement, but he would get over it. The only thing she had to watch out for about him now was to make sure the boy didn't decide to kill the man while he was here, or for glancing sideways at what he declared his woman.

She had gotten the message saying the new kage would be coming to Konoha to speak with her as well as Sakura, and to make the arrangements. There was the underlying tone in the message that stated that he wanted the marriage done as soon as possible, and that soon as possible was when the man got here. She had to wonder why all the men just decided to marry some woman, they knew nothing about.

Sakura would surely be scarred for life when it came to men, seeing as how they all saw her as a slab of meat, prime and ready to go. The thought nearly made her vomit. Only the Uchiha had in some way courted her, if opening up to her was seen as getting to know a person, but they already knew each other, where as the others had seen and wanted. Nothing else was involved. She had seen the almost dread in her apprentice's eyes when Daisuke had led her away and towards their supposed bedroom. Only Kami knows what he said to her before they actually entered.

Throwing her body back into the chair making it lean backwards she let her hands cover her eyes as she tried to clear her mind from all the things that had been going on that were going wrong. Except when you're Hokage nothing could ever be peaceful especially when a runner had to come tell you that the Hidden Village in the Grass was taken over by rebels.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Kage Building**

**Kage Office**

**Evening**

* * *

The map was laid out in front of him as him and two other advisors discussed a safe route to Konoha. Knowing in his mind the whole which trail to take was completely pointless, he couldn't give that away just yet to them. So after much deliberation they choose a route and then a few jounin to escort him to the Hidden Village in the Leaves.

After the men had finally left he leaned back expectantly and waited for his next visitor's that he expected to be there. It was only a few minutes of waiting before his two 'guests' arrived in the room. The female coming over to him and obediently for once, sitting where she was supposed to while the older man came to stand before the desk.

He brought the chair closer to the desk before the woman sat down back facing him, just to make sure she did nothing. A hand came to settle on her waist while the other went to play with her long free locks today. He could see the contempt in the older mans dark eyes. Of course it made the old man mad, he was controlling his life and his daughter's life.

"How's progress?" Kenji asked tugging on a dark strand playfully.

"Fine." the old man snipped back. The girl felt the hand at her waist tighten slightly.

"Fine? Just fine?" Kenji snarled at the man, who backed down slightly. "Things better be better than fine, or something might just happen. Now, how's progress?"the hand that had been playing with hair now gripped the back of the neck of the girl.

"I already have a good third of the council for you. Some of the others are still a little shaky due to the recent assassination, but they will come around. The only problem is Fumio, he's too set in his ways to even consider what you are suggesting." the old man rushed out, concern for his daughter evident in his voice and eyes.

"That's better. I want all of them even Fumio-san to be convinced when I return from Konoha. Is that understood?" the old man nodded. "You can leave now." he stated coldly. The man turned to leave but halted as if waiting for his daughter. The girl tried to get up but was tugged back down.

"I said you." Kenji snarled and the man rushed out of the room. He turned his attentions back to the girl sitting on his lap.

"Your father is becoming a little arrogant with his mouth." he stated, his hand that was once on her waist moving under her shirt to cover her stomach fingers splaying over her smooth skin. "I think he might need some _punishment _for that behavior he displayed. Don't you think so?" his other hand tugged her head back so it rested on his shoulder baring her neck. The girl remained still. "Well I think he does." and he bit the girl's neck, lightly sucking after wards, with her letting out a little shriek of pain.

"Stop." she whimpered at him. "He didn't mean it. He's just tired." she sputtered out excuses.

"Is that all?" he asked face in the crook of her neck. She nodded her head as best she could.

"Then tell him to get more sleep." he pushed her away so her hands landed on the smooth surface of the desk, head only a foot above the desk's top. "Leave, I have things to do." he snapped and she gladly got off his lap and headed straight towards the door fully intending on finding the closest mirror to look over her wound.

He watched her go before storming out of the office himself hurrying to his own quarters to start preparing for the travel to Konoha. He had told his advisors that he would leave first thing in the morning to make the trip and would hopefully return by the beginning of the coming week.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Front Gates**

**Morning**

* * *

He stood at the front gates with three other jonin by his side ready to depart. Some of the councilors were talking quietly among themselves before they made their way towards him. He maneuvered his body slightly to face the oncoming men. Just before they reached him they again stopped and whispered quietly to each other before Fumio-san, he recognized made his way towards him.

"Furusawa-sama, on behalf of the councilors we would like to wish you a safe journey to Konoha. I am sure they anxiously await you. As you know tensions are high between our two countries. This is a perfect time to re-establish a friendlier relationship with them."

"Fumio-san, thank you for the concern, and I will see to it that the countries are put into a better relationship seeing as the Hokage's apprentice was my brother's wife. I am sure that by the end of this there will be lesser tensions between the two countries." Kenji assured the man, even putting his hand upon the other man's shoulder to let him know of his honesty and in a gesture of friendship between the two men.

"You have nothing to worry about, Fumio-san." he said to the man again and watched as the man took a step back from him before walking back over to where the other councilors were standing in a huddle.

Nodding one last time to the councilors that were gathered together he nodded to the men that he had gathered together for this particular journey and soon the four were walking out of the gates and towards the gates of Konoha.

They had been traveling for a day when they reached the border of the Fire and Rain Country. They were about to start out again after resting when the group of four stopped suddenly sensing the chakra that was gathering around them. Jumping to the ground the men stood together waiting for the signatures to approach.

Out of the thick foliage a squad of ANBU from the Leaf were in sight and the squad leader stood before the group of four his other three subordinates around the group. One on either side and one behind. The four men stiffened for a moment, thinking that it could be a trap when the ANBU in front of them spoke to them.

"Welcome to the Fire Country. Hokage-sama has ordered us to see you to Konoha in safety." the voice was deep and rough, but the words were true. The four nodded and soon the now group of eight were on their way towards the Hidden Village in the Leaves.

It took another two and a half days to reach the gates of the village. They could see the towering gates and walls even before they got in view of the entrance way into the village. Within a half hour the squad of ANBU disappeared from the groups' view and the four were left on their own to make the final stretch into the gates.

They were greeted at the gates by a shinobi with a senbon hanging out of his mouth. Bowing his head slightly he greeted them and led them towards the Hokage Tower answering any questions the four might have asked along th way. The five wound up the stairs and through the corridor to stand before the doors that led into the office of the Hokage. Genma rapped twice before opening the door and letting the four men in. Kenji looked over the female kage before him and then at the silver haired man in the room, as well, before giving a customary bow to the other kage.

"Kenji-sama, welcome to Konoha." Tsunade said returning the bow.

* * *

**Sorry if that was a little cliffhanger, my bad. So hope the chapter was good and there will be some things cleared up in the future chapters. **

**_Next Chapter: Reason why kakashi is in Tsunade's office at the end of this one, is Kenji a rebel?, Tsunade and Kenji talk, and what's going on back in Rain?, and Kenji and Sakura meet. _**

**Update: if I get over 250 reviews by tomorrow when i decide i will update tomorrow evening like usual. So you want the next chapter? Review then**

**please review**

**yoyo  
**


	22. Chapter 21: Meeting the Enemy

**Here's the update i promised if i got over 250 reviews. **

**thanks for all the reviews they were really great. there was a question asked by an anonymous reviewer so i will answer it right now**

That Akiko girl has a lot of backstory, is she going to be important?

yes, akiko does have a lot of backstory. you will find a little more about her in this chapter and what her goals might be, but she is a character i created to **help Konoha** in the long run. her full story will be in chapter 22 of how she got mixed in with Kenji, seeing as she is the more truthful person between her and kenji. but yes she is very important to the story.

hope that answers the question. you will have to pay close attention to her part in this chapter to get her goal. but i will give you a hint it is at the end of her section last line.

**thanks for asking!**

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy  
**

* * *

**Chapter 21**

**Meeting the Enemy  
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**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hospital**

**Morning Before Kenji Arrives**

* * *

It was now a regular sight for most of the nurses to swoon when they saw Uchiha Sasuke walk into the hospital and then see their smiles vanish when he went directly into Sakura's room practically snapping the door closed behind him, making all the female nurses nurse their own broken hearts that apparently weren't that lucky to get the attention of Uchiha Sasuke.

It was also a common thing to now hear about the return of Uchiha Sasuke. Though the man tried to be discreet at how he moved, getting the approval of Tsunade to move discreetly around the village to go placed while Kakashi and Naruto brought him the essentials he needed to live in the new Uchiha Compound that he was semi anxious to show to Sakura once she got out.

That however would have to wait since she was still in the hospital, recovering from the fire and poison but mostly for the tests that were done to determine if she was pregnant. It had been a week and though it would be hard to tell if she was, the nurses were ordered to continue the tests daily just to make sure that they would know the day Sakura came up pregnant, if she was pregnant.

So when Sasuke walked into Sakura's hospital room he was surprised to find the infamous copy nin reading his little book, leaning against the far wall, watching over a sleeping Sakura. It was close to six in the morning and usually the copy nin never visited this early in the day, so immediately Sasuke knew that something was going on.

"You're observant to know I have to tell you something." the masked man spoke not looking at the other man.

"Aa." Sasuke replied taking his customary seat next to the bed.

"Kenji-san will be arriving this afternoon. At least that's what reports are saying from the ANBU squad escorting them. Better say your goodbyes to her and say hello to your compound because that's where you will have to stay from now on until he leaves." the man went on.

"What about me identifying him?"

"Don't worry about that. That will happen when he arrives. We will discreetly watch the gates as he is coming in. you get a look at him, tell me if you know him, you go home and I go to Tsunade. Simple as that and you stay hidden for the remaining time that he is here."

"Saku-"

"She will go with him most likely. Tsunade-sama warned you about that. You might as well prepare yourself for being apart and say your goodbye before you leave today." the silver haired man said before vanishing from the room, leaving only Sasuke and Sakura.

Sakura woke up only an hour later to be greeted by the now ever familiar inky locks and the obsidian eyes. Giving off a warm smile to him she sat up in the bed rubbing her sore arm that was the objective for the many needles that were punctured into her skin for testing. Running a hand through her unkempt shoulder blade length hair she turns her attention to Sasuke, just feeling that something was off.

"Sasuke, what's wrong?" she asked concerned for the man. But he didn't reply back. "Sasuke, what is it?" his onyx meets her emerald.

"Kenji, is arriving this afternoon, by the reports." she sucked in a breath of air.

"I see." speaking quietly she turned her head away for a moment before turning back towards him.

"I'll miss you." she tells him softly.

"Aa." he responds with the same soft tone.

"But we still have most of the day before he comes." she brightens up. "tell me about the compound." he looks up at her and smirks with a content look in his eyes as he begins to tell her of the new compound and his own abode.

* * *

**Mid Afternoon**

**Before Kenji's Arrival**

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* * *

  
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Kakashi had come to the hospital as soon as he found out that the ANBU had disappeared as the escorts to let the men from Rain finish the journey in by themselves. Knocking on the door to Sakura's room he entered it seeing the two still in the positions they always seemed to be in. Sasuke sitting in the chair elbows propped up on his knees with chin on his interlaced fingers, while Sakura was sitting up in the starch white bed awaiting yet another needle.

The two looked at him, and he gave a subtle nod to Sasuke letting him know that his time with her was up and again they would have to go into separation. Leaving the room he gave them some privacy. He pulled out the little orange book he loved so much and began to read knowing that their goodbye would probably be more than a simple goodbye.

As soon as he heard the door shut he was on his feet and hovering over Sakura's bed and realizing just how impatient she was as well dragged her forward in her bed and gave her a searing kiss. Hands fisting into her hair while hers clutched his black haori. Without him asking her mouth opened and welcomed his tongue into her mouth.

She didn't want the kiss to end for when it did, it was likely she wouldn't see him for weeks or even months, and possibly if the man wasn't a rebel, never, except in her dreams. When he began to relinquish himself from her, her hands begged him to stay by pulling on his haori tighter, wanting him to know she didn't want him to go. She soon found his hands on hers, guiding her hands to let go of the haori and back towards her own person, though the kiss continued.

When the kiss did break, Sakura could already feel the tears making their way down her cheeks and onto the white cloth covering her. Her hands started to grip his hands trying to pull him closer but he only gave her a chaste kiss before pulling his hands away. Her hands now lay limply in her lap, face cast downwards. Without him thinking he brought a hand up and wiped away the tears giving her one last smirk before leaving the room.

He was sure that closing that door was just about as hard as it had been leaving Konoha all those years ago including knocking Sakura out. He let out a heavy sigh before looking to his sides to find the man that would escort him past the gates and then he would have to go back to the compound until further notice. Spotting the copy nin he walked towards him and the masked man nodded to the other before they left the hospital heading for the gates.

They sat on a rooftop that overlooked the gates. They had a clear angle of the approaching men and they would both be able to easily see the men's faces and determine if the new kage was in fact a rebel, and more precisely the rebel Sasuke had met with. When the men were within yards of the gate the two men slunk to their stomachs before crawling to the side of the building and peering over and down at the men.

They could clearly see Genma as he welcomed the men into the village before the men began to walk, taking the path that would lead straight past where the two were currently hiding themselves to get a good look at the faces. When the man had passed, Kakashi nudged the Uchiha in the ribs and in return the Uchiha gave off a nod. It was the man that he had spoken to and received his orders from. Kakashi nodded to the other man and immediately poofed away, leaving a few leaves in his wake.

Sasuke almost glared at the spot next to him. After a few moments he pushed himself off and got rid of the small rocks that had clung to his haori and hands while he had been looking over the edge. Without another thought he disappeared reappearing again in front of the compound gates. He looked up at the insignia that was carved into the wood above the gates.

Everything right now in some way contradicted what he should be doing. He should be out fighting for what was his and not just sitting back and letting someone else take it away. He had been taught from a young age that being an Uchiha was something to be proud of. They were strong and fought for what was right. But with his father, was it right to go against Konoha. Though the mindset and thoughts were good of not wanting to be repressed wasn't there a better way to go about it, rather than planning a coup that would undoubtedly kill many?

He walked through the open gates and his feet led him straight to his new home, but he didn't stop until he got to the master bedroom where he seemingly flopped down on the bed and laid there thinking of what might have been if the rebel wasn't related by marriage to Sakura. In a good scenario, she wouldn't get pregnant, the rebel wouldn't be related to her, and after a few weeks everything surrounding them would be just a bad memory and somewhere in there he would have her, not just for a little while, but for a long time, but he couldn't think about that right now.

* * *

**Hokage's Office**

* * *

She wasn't surprised when the copy nin made himself present in her office. She immediately stopped what she was doing to hear what he had to report about if the man was really a rebel. A part of her was itching to find out because the sooner she knew the sooner she could figure out what Sakura needed to do while residing in Rain, but if he wasn't she had to plan for that.

"The man is a rebel." Kakashi spoke definitively leaving no room for discussion.

Tsunade arched an eyebrow and he could already see the nasty thoughts that were going on in her head. She would have to act pleasant with this man if she wanted to end this war with the rebels and she was not in a good mood, seeing as the night before she had received a message from Waterfall letting her know that they too had fallen to the rebels.

It pissed her off to no end. In less than two months three going on for countries were already under rebel control, and now it was Konoha's turn to fight back. Rain was surely next on the list to get taken over seeing as the leader of Rain was the rebel that could very well lead the other rebels. It was not comforting to know that her apprentice would have to probably marry the man that led the rebels and would be in the room in the next few minutes. And she was right, just as she was about to speak there was a rapping on the door and it opened to let in four men, which one of them, she recognized from the picture she had of him. Furusawa Kenji.

The picture seemed to have been a tad outdated seeing as the man in front of her, looked slightly different than the one in the picture. She inwardly scoffed at the man as he made the usual courtesy actions before her. She accepted his bow and returned it welcoming him into Konoha. She offered him a seat and the three shinobi behind him as well as Kakashi made themselves comfortable against the wall, where, Kakashi, surprisingly didn't pull out his Icha Icha books.

"It is a privilege to meet the Kage of Amegakure." Tsunade spoke. "I had no idea that a relative of the Daimyo, even lived in the Rain country, let alone his son." The man laughed a little

"I'm sure it is a surprise, but one can't deny lineage." Kenji spoke smoothly, a little too smoothly for Tsunade's taste.

"Of course. I'm sure you are grieved by the passing of your father and brother."

"Of course, I didn't expect to hear of something so tragic, especially with the word on the rebels we received as well."

"Yes, it has to be a trying time. Do you have any idea who may have assassinated the late kage?"

"We are figuring someone from the rebel group. The people and other councilors were very pleased with what he was doing. It is the only plausible group to suspect."

"I see. I was also quite....surprised to hear that you yourself were named the new kage."

"I didn't think I would even come up in the talks of the new kage. I have worked with late kage before, but to think I would become the new kage was incredulous." he spoke with what seemed to be truth. "It was also shocking to hear that my brother's wife miraculously escaped the fire. I wasn't exactly sure how to react to that." He continued lying easily through his teeth.

It had become second nature to lie to someone. He had been doing it for years. To the people and councilors of Ame, to others that he was associated with outside of the rebel group. He was sure thought that he could see something in the Hokage's eyes that told him that she was somehow onto him. But he didn't let it faze him. He would soon be holding all the cards.

"Yes, it was a surprise to us all well when Sakura was found and brought to us."

"Who exactly rescued her?" the man asked, amused almost.

"A squad of my jounin. Actually one is right behind you. His team was coming back from a mission in the Wind Country and they saw the fire." the man turned around to look at Kakashi, dark blue eyes quickly scanning the man, almost trying to figure the man out.

"You have my gratitude then." He bowed his head towards the man before facing the Hokage. "I believe this leads straight into the next order of business." he said.

"of course." and the unwanted discussion began with no enthusiasm from either party.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Building**

**Room**

* * *

If he knew she would sneaking around behind his back and looking at things she wasn't supposed to, she knew she would be dead quicker than anyone could say anything. Quietly slipping into the all too familiar room she headed towards the adjoined room off the bedroom. Sliding the separating shoji door she walked briskly yet quietly to the desk.

Hovering above the desk she started to finger all the folders that were on the desk not finding the one she wanted. Knowing it might leave prints for him to find she lightly started to pull the drawers open and began to finger the files and folders in them as well. Eyes catching the name she gently pulled the folder out of the drawer and set it on the desk in front of her.

She knew exactly why he was gone at the moment and it wasn't just to discuss things with the Hokage of Konoha. She had been in his office when she had accidentally uncovered the note about his father and brother being in a fire while the wife of his brother escaped being helped back to Konoha. He only wanted another female conquest and inwardly she scoffed. But who was this woman that would make him go to such great lengths to have her? It most likely had to do something that was related with the rebels he led.

Opening the file she looked at the woman's features for a moment and stared blatantly at the cherry blossom haired woman with seemingly sparkling emerald eyes that stared back at her. The woman was gorgeous she had to admit, but it wasn't just the beauty he wanted, _there_ had to be more to her than just that.

Looking over her stats. as a ninja she wasn't that well placed. Great genjutsu, but sorely lacking in the other areas. But she was a medic and then she saw the reason why Kenji wanted the woman so bad. She was the apprentice to the Hokage. It would be another threatening situation just like hers. He would threaten Konoha with the girl if they didn't cooperate with him.

Sighing silently she flipped the folder shut and carefully replaced it where it had been before she had taken it from its resting spot. Closing the drawer she made her way out of the room closing the shoji door behind her before exiting the rest of the way out of the apartment, type area. She looked both directions before going to her right just like how she had come in. Maybe this Konoha girl could help her, was all she thought as she moved away from the room in the shadows.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hospital**

* * *

She was still trying to get over the fact that she wouldn't be seeing Sasuke for a long time and again inwardly cursed herself for becoming emotionally attached to the raven haired man. Even if things had still turned out like they were, if she hadn't of crossed that line with him she wouldn't be aching for him now as she knew that the man that was related to her late husband was in Konoha and probably wanting to see her.

Though she may have told herself in her mind that crossing the line wasn't the smartest thing she had ever done it was the one things that she was happy that she had done. She knew that would sound bad if she told anyone, but though it was stupid in the long run, she didn't think she could trade anything for those few times that they shared together.

She was about to start thinking about something else when she heard muffled voices outside her door. Her head swung to the door as she watched two shadows outside the door drift into the room letting her know that someone was coming into her room. She couldn't make out the words but she just sat, until the door opened and closed.  
"Sakura, Kenji-sama, is here to see you." Tsunade told her apprentice. The girl's eyes widened in shock her mind only thinking it was too soon, but going against the feeling in her gut she nodded her head. Tsunade nodded and exited the room again, while Sakura raked her thin fingers through her hair trying to look somewhat proper.

The door opened again and Tsunade stepped in followed by a man she could only assume to be Kenji, and then Kakashi as well as another unfamiliar shinobi. She sat straighter in the bed as she watched Kakashi and the other shinobi stay behind and Tsunade and Kenji approach her bed. He nodded her in a friendly manner. Her eyes flickered to her shishou and the other woman cleared her throat.

"Kenji, this is Haru-, excuse me Furusawa Sakura." she said nodding to the female, "Sakura, this is Furusawa Kenji, Daisuke's brother." Sakura's throat tightened.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Uchiha Compound**

* * *

It was rather frustrating that he was sitting around on a bed while all he wanted to do was go down to the hospital and take care of the rebel. He was sure by now that Sakura had met with the rebel. It had been about three hours since he had been given the order to reside at his house until the rebel left the village and it had been a very boring three hours.

The only thing that had remotely caused some interest was that Naruto stopped by with Hinata, to visit, though the blond did most of the talking, with the shy Hyuuga talking only when she really had to or to support Naruto when he said something that he wouldn't believe. He was somewhat appreciative of the company but for the most part all he wanted to be left alone.

So finally after Naruto and Hinata left he had gone back upstairs to lay on the bed. Though he wasn't much for the beds when it came to thinking it was actually more comfortable than the couch in that area. It was probably a good thing that the bed was comfortable for him or he might have been off it and heading straight to the hospital, but he tried to refrain himself from leaving the compound or more precisely the house.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hospital**

* * *

She stared stunned at the man. He looked similar to her late husband but she thought everything was just surreal, but now looking at him standing before her, it came into prospective. Her throat had long gone dry and she didn't trust herself to say anything to the man that would undoubtedly become her husband in the coming days if not hours, depending on how urgent the man really was.

He looked over her. She was more beautiful than the pictures had let on, but that was okay and she did have far better beauty than Akiko did. He was sure that woman wouldn't miss her duties inside his room, more specifically in his bed, but he would take care of that issue later. She looked thinner than the last picture had portrayed but he guessed it was from the poisoning and the fire. The stress from it all must have made her ill. He bowed before her again and began to speak.

"I'm deeply sorry about your loss." He spoke, his voice taking on a husky edge to it.

"For you as well." she half croaked out. "He was your.....brother after all." she tried to make her voice sound lighter rather than heavier.

"We may have been brothers but we hardly knew each other, but thank you all the same." she could already tell the man was a cynic. His choice of words was proper yet it showed almost disdain and a little bit uncaring about what had happened.

"I'm sorry you didn't know your brother that well. He was a fine man." and she spoke it truthfully. He was and had been a fine man and at the end a man unworthy of her for her infidelity. She only prayed that the man before her now knew nothing of the affair.

"That he was. We may not have known each other but I always paid close attention to the dealings among the family." He smirked crookedly and it was all Sakura could do to keep from grimacing.

"But that was the past." he spoke abruptly. "and we live in the present." Sakura's jaw nearly dropped and she could see Tsunade trying to keep hers up as well. "I'm sure you have heard that I have recently become Kage of Amegakure." she nodded numbly. Talk about pompous. "The councilors have decided that since you were my brother's wife and since he is dead, I should follow the clan ways and take you to wife as well." he spoke nonchalantly about the whole thing. "I came here to discuss issues with the Hokage but also for you as well. The councilors would like you to return to Amegakure as my wife." and her jaw did drop this time.

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**Hope that was a good chapter. I thought it was pretty good since the last few chapters are kind of transition chapter, but hopefully they are good. **

**_Next Chapter: Sasuke gets in a little trouble by Kakashi. Kenji, Sakura, and Tsunade talk, After affects of the conversation and is Sakura pregnant? Akiko' s story, and Sakura and Kenji talk alone.  
_**

**Update: most likely saturday i need to finish up chapter 25 before i post again and i want to maybe start on chapter 26.**

**please continue to poll**

please review, i love them:)

**yoyo**


	23. Chapter 22: Come into Realization

**Here is the next chapter of this fic. **

**thanks for the reviews, and we made it over 260 which is where Lessons of Life and Love sits at for reviews. i didn't think that this fic would get over that many reviews so thank you, thank you, thank you.**

**there was a questions asked that i would like to answer.**

**Q:**How many chapters more is this fic going to be?

**A:** So far i am currently on chapter 26 of this fic and i find myself projecting at least 30 chapters seeing as i am just starting to hit some important parts of the end, but there is still quite a bit to do, so you have at least 8 more chapters of this fic to enjoy :)

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy the chapter.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 22**

**Come into Realization  
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**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

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What he had just done was probably one of the stupidest moves he probably could have ever done, but it was just too tempting to not do it. He had to know what was going on and even though he was breaking the rules and having the opportunity to get caught, he knew that everything would probably be worth it.

He had gotten tired of sitting on the bed at his home and making a split second decision he had left his home and the compound and made his way towards the hospital, being as stealthy as he could. Memorizing the room where Sakura was in he perched just above the room ,enough to see in and the occupants. His blood began to rage when he saw the rebel leader standing rather close to Sakura's laying form.

Luckily for him the window was part way open letting the conversation come out to him in the tree. He nearly rolled his eyes when he heard them talking about her late husband. He could heard the emotions in her voice and though the words were sincere enough, there was a slight edge to them letting him know that even though she said it and it was true, a part of her was feeling guilty for doing what she had done.

But then the conversation changed almost instantly and that was what made his blood boil even more. The man had so abruptly changed the conversation that he was sure Sakura was trying to adjust to what he had just told her. That besides coming to Konoha to speak with the Hokage he was there to make her his wife, out of clan duty. Gritting his teeth he knew about clan duties it happened in the Uchiha clan as well. A shinobi would be killed and the closest living male relative usually a cousin or brother, would marry the widowed woman.

He had to excersize great self control to keep himself from most likely jumping into the room and making sure the man knew that he was not to mess with what he declared his woman. Gritting his teeth his hand clenched a nearby tree branch that was of good thickness, or else it would have broken due to the death grip he held onto it with.

It angered him that the man would only think of Sakura for such base purposes, but wasn't that what he had done? Given into carnal desires that only she could help him with or so he had said? Though it angered him at what the man was saying, he knew that he was once, like that as well and it wasn't that long ago that he was like that. Seeing and hearing enough he quickly vanished from the tree only to go back to the empty Uchiha Compound.

Entering the house that was his he immediately took off his sandals and padded barefoot around the house before dropping unceremoniously onto the couch. He leaned his head back so it was supported by the back of the couch. Bringing up his hands he massaged his eyes before dragging his hands down his face. This really wasn't what he was expecting when he came back here. Hearing a sound from the corner of the room his head shot up to look at the corner he heard the noise from and saw a familiar masked covered face and an orange book.

"Kakashi?" he asked.

"You seem to not like following orders." he told the younger man. "You could have placed yourself and Sakura in danger." he flipped a page. "I thought that you brining Sakura back had changed you in someway, but you are still the selfish boy I once knew." the coal eye looked over the top of the book. "You want everything your way and you will do whatever you want even if it means endangering those that are close to you."

Sasuke looked at the older man finding the truth in his words and though he hated to admit it, what he had done and could certainly be added to his list of stupid things that he has done. But the other part of him told him that he had to go. He had to see and hear what was going on. But right now he didn't respond to Kakashi's words.

"Just watch yourself Sasuke, and next time _think_ a little before you think about doing something like that." and then he was gone leaving Sasuke to his empty home once again.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hosptital**

* * *

As soon as Kakashi disappeared she knew that something was wrong or had happened, and if she knew better she would have to guess it had something to do with a particular Uchiha. Her mind was drawn back to the hospital room when she heard the words come out of Kenji's mouth saying that the councilors wanted Sakura to return with him to Ame as his wife. The look on Sakura's face was something she expected seeing as how the man was terribly blunt about his expectations, but before her apprentice could answer she spoke.

"Kenji-sama," she said with authority, "I believe if that is the case then you may have to wait another few days to return to Ame, seeing as the nurses have not fully concluded if she is with child yet."

"What do the tests conclude right now?" he asked completely ignoring the woman in the bed.

"Right now they are concluding that she is not pregnant, as the hormone levels and other levels are regular right now with no fluctuation."

"Then I do not see why we should wait. Even if she was with child, I would look after the child like it was my own since it would be my brother's child." from the corner of his eye he could see Sakura blanch and inwardly he smirked.

"Give us another couple of days." Tsunade wouldn't call it pleading but it was real close.

"Alright, but I need to get back to Ame, soon. I will give you two days for more tests but that is all." He said. "Now about us marrying." Sakura's face went whiter and Tsunade could see the distress on her face.

"I would suggest you hold off until you are ready to go back to Amegakure. Stressful things can affect the test results." Tsunade interrupted and Sakura inwardly thanked her.

"Of course. I wouldn't want to alter the results." he nodded. "Seeing as how we are done here, I would like to get some rest." he stated.

"Of course, we have an area already set up for you. I will have Shizune show you where you will be staying. Your shinobi have also been given their own quarters near yours." Tsunade informed the man.

"Arigatou, Tsunade-hime. I will speak more with you tomorrow," he turned to Sakura "as well as you Sakura." He smiled crookedly before leaving the room.

Tsunade watched the man's back leave the room before she turned to Sakura and gave the pale white girl a reassuring smile. She wanted to wait until the men were most likely out of the hospital before she talked to her apprentice about what was to go on once she left Konoha. Opening the door and peering out and seeing no one she again closed it and made her way towards the woman in the bed.

"I'm not pregnant?" was the first thing out of Sakura's mouth when the blond took a seat in the chair beside.

"The tests aren't showing any changes in any of your levels, and when we have used chakra when you were asleep it wasn't showing up anything. We will still do it for a few more days, but it looks like you got lucky this time around." The younger woman had a small smile adorn her face in relief.

"Now, Sasuke did identify that man as part of the rebel group." the small fell and was replaced by a frown. "Plans will go as the same but be extra-cautious around the man. Also since I suspect you will be spending some time apart, try and look through his documents to find anything." The girl nodded. "and remember, weekly letters. Encode your findings in them. I don't care how dumb the encodings might sound but we need to have them." another nod.

Tsunade looked at the girl that had become a woman that was next to her. She could see how Sakura's face still had to regain its color. She inwardly cursed. She just got told that she would be used basely by a man that was her late husband's brother and was a part of the rebel organization that was running rampant around the nations. Of course the woman probably wasn't even comprehending what she was being told by her mentor. Tsunade sighed.

"We will discuss this again tomorrow. I will be the one to do your testing tomorrow so we can talk." another numb nod. Tsunade got out of the chair and watched the girl still stare off into nothing.

She could hardly believe what had just happened in her room. Daisuke's brother put into blunt words that she _would_ marry him before he left and that it would probably be in a few days. He had seemed somewhat warm when he had entered the room but once he got down to business he was so cold and she shivered remembering how he had looked at her. With the wanton lust written clearly in his eyes. She didn't know if she could do it anymore.

Then the news that she was not pregnant, or she was supposedly not pregnant. She was ecstatic that she wasn't pregnant but at the same time she would have wanted a child, if it was Sasuke's. But even if she was pregnant and even if it might have been Sasuke's, he never would have known it. But she wasn't and that just made the prospect of the mission just a little easier.

She was also startled that the man that was in the room was a part of the rebel group. Though it didn't surprise her, the man looked unruly and like he wanted the power that being a rebel provided him with. Did the shinobi even know that he was a rebel leader and was ultimately planning for the downfall of the nations? The man was basically playing poker or something to that effect. His face remained stoic at all times only playing the faces when he needed them and right now it seemed he had a full house.

Her breathing hitched and her once steady breaths began to turn into struggled gasps for air. She knew she was probably going into shock with all that had just taken place. She began to feel dizzy and lightheaded. Feeling around the arm of the bed with a shaking hand she hit the familiar red button that called for a doctor or nurse and soon enough a nurse was in the room and upon seeing her state called immediately for Tsunade.

The Hokage rushed into the room not yet left the hospital. One look at her apprentice and she called for a small sedative shot to calm the woman down. Once receiving the desired shot she neared her student to better asses the situation before inserting the small needle into the younger woman's arm an watching her fall into a sleep.

Tsunade watched as her apprentice calmed down as the injection did its job and sedated the woman. Within minutes after the shots injections her breathing began to return to normal, her pulse slowing and her heart rate going down. For a moment she watched the woman knowing that with all the information she had received today had sent her into a fit of shock. It was just too much for anyone to handle. The only reason she probably hadn't gone into shock was her sake. Sighing she left her apprentice in the room to sleep.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Kage Building**

**Kage Office**

**Night  
**

* * *

It was the second time that she had snuck around his personal areas, but she wasn't about to let the man get away with anything more than what he had already done. She had already explored his personal quarters and it wasn't suspicious to anyone seeing as she went regularly into the quarters but she knew those days would be going when the woman Sakura got there and inwardly the woman felt sorry for the other woman.

Turning on her small flashlight she again began to dig through the papers and documents on the desk and in the drawers. She wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for all she knew was that she needed to find something to prove that he had given the order to assassinate the Kage.

She knew all about him being a part of the rebel group. Her own brother was a part of the group that Kenji led. She had only been sixteen when her brother had told her about a great man that had a plan to unite all the countries under one leader. At first she had been intrigued, but then it something happened. The man Kenji, found out from her brother that their father was a respected man in the small political system when Pein had governed Amegakure.

But then Pein was defeated and then so was the rest of Akatsuki and then things changed again. The political system suddenly burst forward and within eight months after Pein was killed the people named a Kage and their father was going to be a councilor for the Kage. That was when Kenji struck at them. Her brother was already gone with another man that was leading another part of the rebel group.

She had been at home with her father when there was a loud an almost obnoxious knocking at their door. She had put down what she had been doing and went to get the door only to be welcomed by a kunia and several other men along with Kenji. Her father had come to see what the commotion was only to find Kenji making himself at home in his house, and his daughter being detained by a man and a kunai to her throat.

Kenji had been straight to the point. Kenji, had already made a political impact on the political system as he was helping with emissaries to the other countries and making peace with most of the countries. He had helped bring Ame and the Rain country back from the grave in a sense.

He had told her father that he was going for a greater goal than just unity in Ame and the Rain country and forced her father into his aide, by threatening his daughter's life. He would be a mole within the council and would try to get them to favor him and in time his cause, but he had an incentive. If he wasn't able to persuade the other councilors then his daughter's life was void.

She had seen the indecision in his eyes at first but when he saw the kunai go deeper into his daughter's neck he had willingly complied to the terms, but she was in a sense sold to the man as well. Though he had her father, her father was leverage against her. If she did anything wrong or didn't comply to his wishes the old man would be hurt or even her brother that was serving elsewhere. She too had complied with him and only a few short months later she became his bed companion. She would submit to anything he wanted, just for the sake of her family, but this needed to stop.

She had to somehow stop Kenji from accomplishing his goals. He had wrecked her life and her families life and she would not stand for it any longer. She also hoped that when this Sakura came that maybe she could also get help from her. She could already guess that the woman didn't want to come but was in essence being forced to be here, seeing as how Kenji was Daisuke's younger brother, that no one knew about.

Letting out a frustrated growl she quietly slammed the drawer shut causing the desk to rattle slightly. She froze when she heard footsteps outside of the office and in the hallway. Crouching down she hid behind the desk hoping that she wouldn't get caught snooping around Kenji's office. It would have resulted in a serious punishment and she really didn't want to face that. She still had a large bruise from where he bit her just the other day for her father's insubordination.

As soon as the footsteps died away she again moved out from near the desk. There hadn't been anything helpful. Grasping an edge of the desk she stood up and before releasing the edge she splayed her fingers and felt an envelope of sorts. Crouching back down she looked under the edge and saw the envelope. Freeing the envelops after several good tugs she kneeled on the floor and opened the folder.

Eyes scanned over the notes and contents of the folder. It looked like a copy of all the notes he had sent and others. Filing through them she finally stopped at the note she was looking for in neat cryptic writing she saw the words ordering the assassination of the Kage. Her breath hitched. She knew that Kenji was a ruthless man but to be so ruthless as to kill their own kage was something that made bile rise in her throat. Stuffing the notes back into the envelope and replacing it where it had been she quietly crept out of the office and out of the building heading back towards her home.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hospital**

**Morning**

* * *

When she awoke she wasn't exactly expecting the sight before her. Sure she was used to seeing a male figure sitting at her bedside but the figure that was sitting there was one that it took a moment for her to recognize who it was. The man had the dark hair and dark blue eyes. He seemed to be openly staring at her. He could see that she was awake and his posture went more upright, straightening his back.

For a moment she just looked at him as well before making the move to start moving herself upwards and into a sitting position. He helped her a little bit making her surprised but she hid it well. Once propped up she started to wring her hands quietly in her lap while the man just continued to look at her and then at some object and then back at her. It was awkward for both of them to be there in the room together with no one else.

"I apologize for my behavior yesterday." he spoke first startling her. Emerald eyes found their way over towards his body. "It was rude and unconventional of me to just blatantly tell you of the expectations you are required to meet. I have probably only succeeded in startling you more than you already were. I was cold and callous and I apologize." she took a good look at him. He was apologizing to her for his behavior. It was a rather nice gesture for him to make.

"I understand." she told him back. "You, too, are most likely under a considerable amount of stress as well. It was just a lapse of judgment."

"Arigatou, for your understanding. I don't think many people would have understood. The loss of my family hit me rather hard. I might not have known them as you had, but they were still family and I will miss them." he told her and a part of her knew he spoke the truth but the other part was screaming deceit.

"I miss them as well." she told him.

"I hope that things will work out between us. I know that the news came as a shock to you, but hopefully we can learn to work with one another and in time, maybe have deeper feelings for one another." he spoke cautiously.  
"Of course." she spoke to him. "in time I believe we could achieve something like that."

"Also, before I left I spoke with the councilors and though I am sure you are tired of hearing this statement especially since Daisuke became Daimyo, but the elders as well as the people would like to have a child between the two of us. It can come in time though, I won't press something of such importance upon you."

"Arigatou for that." it was stated quietly.

She hated it when people brought up that subject with her. All it did was make her feel like a brood mare or something similar used for the purposes of getting a child and quite frankly right now she had no wish to have a child. For the child if it was conceived right now would only be a reminder of the terrible circumstances it was conceived under and she didn't want to spend the rest of her life looking at a child when it was brought into this world under false pretenses of love.

"I already spoke with Tsunade-sama earlier." her head turned towards him "you will have some more tests today and tomorrow to see if you are with child but she is almost positive you are not." she smiled weakly. "I need to return to Ame in a few days and you are to return with me." a nod. " I hope this is not too sudden for you, but Tsunade-sama has offered to marry us before I leave." her heart clenched in fright. But she had to go along with it.

"Of course. I would not want to delay you when you have other duties and responsibilities to attend to back in Ame."

"Arigatou. I must be leaving now but I hope to talk again soon." he stood and neared her bed and leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead, before brushing some of her hair away from her face, causing her to shiver. He left both the room and her soon after.

She was not left alone for very long until Tsunade came into the room to continue the testing. She sat silently and patiently as Tsunade drew a few vials of blood and examined her with her chakra.

"Well, we'll test these samples but I can say that there is a very slim chance you are pregnant." she said with a slight edge of glee in her voice.

"Now time to get down to business," the glee was gone from her voice and it was all seriousness now and Sakura internally wished that the discussion wouldn't take place.

"As you know Kenji, is a part of the inner group of the rebels. We suspect that he may even be the leader of the whole thing. Now I told you he was the second son of the previous Daimyo and brother to Daisuke, and he is, but they are twins, which is why Daisuke nor anyone else knew about him. He's also very good at covering his tracks." Sakura nodded understanding that this wouldn't be an easy mission.

"Your mission while you are there is too uncover any information about Kenji or what he is planning on doing and relay it to use in coded messages. Anything will do as long as we will be able to figure it out."

"What if he uses leverage?"  
"Don't worry about that. I have already taken it into consideration and the worst he would or could possibly do would be to lock you up in his room all day every day, but there could still be information in his room as well. Look everywhere."

"What if the letters can't get to you?"

"Use the slugs." Tsunade shrugged tilting her head to the side. Sakura inwardly sweat dropped. It seemed her usually drunk mentor was actually sober and thinking clearly, having a plan for everything. "Oh and by the way Kenji asked me to perform the ceremony."

"I know he came in here earlier to talk."

"He did? Oh, well, and he wants it to be done the day after tomorrow, so get ready. I will try and get the Uchiha to see you one last time before you leave." Sakura looked at her shishou surprised.

"You're going to let me see him before I leave?"

"Of course, I'm not that heartless when it comes to him. Besides he had a very angry aura the other day after listening in on our conversation with Kenji." he had been there listening? She groaned, realizing he was probably way beyond pissed.

"Arigatou. When will you send him to me?"

"Sometime during the next two nights. He has to be careful or else Kenji could possibly suspect that he is here." Tsunade picked up the vials and began to exited the room.

* * *

**Hope that was up to standards for you all and that you liked it. Also just a note, Sakura can summon slugs like Tsunade can, so that's why Tsunade told her to use the slugs if she had too. **

**_Next Chapter: Sasuke goes to see Sakura, an unwelcome visitor at the Uchiha Compound, Kenji rushes things forward, the jounrey to Ame, and sakura meets Akiko. _**

**Update: i am for some reason lacking the motivation to write chapter 26. i am in no way under writer's block, just the opposite really, but i need to finish chapter 26 before i release chapter 23 and it's a good chapter so if you review i will be motivated to write chapter 26 so you can get it hopefully by monday and if not probably tuesday then. **

**PLEASE CONTINUE TO POLL**

**so review and you get a chapter the next chapter on Monday instead of tuesday.**

**yoyo  
**


	24. Chapter 23: A Twisted Arm

**I got some motivation, but i had to run with it so i finished up chapter 26 at nearly midnight last night, or this morning, or whatever you want to call it. but it is a really good chapter, at least i think so. but here is chapter 23.**

**thanks for all the reviews they motivate me to write**

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy !!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 23**

**A Twisted Arm  
**

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* * *

  
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* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Night**

* * *

He was glad for the cover of darkness, though he still had to slink around to get to his destination. But going through Konoha at night was far better than during the day when everyone would start whispering if they even caught a glimpse of him, wondering if the Uchiha was really back and if he was, for what reason? He hated people that stuck their noses into other peoples' business but then again he had done that too, so he sounded like a hypocrite.

He had gotten the message earlier that he could go and see Sakura that night, but it had to be late at night or in the early morning of the next day. Ever since he had gotten the message he had been itching to get out of the house and to get to the hospital. He was still furious about what he had heard the other day when he had basically been eavesdropping on the conversation.

He stiffened himself against a building when he heard drunken voices coming from the street. He watched as a group of shinobi walked past him as he hid himself. He was tempted to roll his eyes and hoped that those shinobi didn't have missions the next day seeing as they would probably be nursing fierce hangovers in the morning, but that was beside the point. He _needed_ to get to the hospital.

As soon as the shinobi were out of hearing range he resumed his trek towards the hospital having to hide a few more times as others passed by him. Finally reaching the hospital he slipped himself inside seemingly unnoticed and made his way towards her room, making sure no one saw him as he made his way up to her room on the third floor of the hospital.

Finally accomplishing the feat of getting to her room he slipped inside after looking both ways and made his way over to the slumbering woman. The note had said that she had some important news to tell him. To say he was anxious to hear what she would tell him was an understatement in ways. He was anxious but he was also impatient.

Walking over to her side he placed a hand on her shoulder as she was lying on her left side facing him and the door. Gently rocking her for her to wake up, at first she didn't respond but after another shake he could hear her mumbling something incoherent and soon her emerald eyes were revealed from behind her closed eye lids. Focusing her eyes she spots the shadow looming over her bed and her eyes dart to the shadow's face.

"Sasuke?" she asked groggily and he nodded his head. Her attention is snapped awake as she begins to sit up in the bed moving her legs a gesture of inviting him to join her on the bed and he does, but before he could say anything to her she is already reaching for his shirt to pull him into a kiss.

As soon as he felt her lips on his his hands flew up into her hair, fingers twisting around cherry pink locks for a moment before a hand made its way down her back to pull her closer to him. He could feel her hands embedding themselves in his own hair and, nibbling a little on her bottom lip she opens her mouth for him to go deeper.

He presses her up against him letting him feel her for possibly the last time for a long while. It felt so good to be in this position again. She moaned lowly as he dragged one of his hands hard up her back after pressing her to him. He felt an instant feeling of gratification, only he could make her feel this good.

He broke the kiss, his breath showering her face as she began to open her closed eyes and stared up at him with a glazed over expression. Her face reached forward again wanting to have another kiss but he moved back a little earning a quizzical look from her, so he gave a kiss on the corner of her lips, satiating her for a moment.

"I don't have very long." he whispered in her ear and she shivered at their proximity. "Tsunade said you had news." he said placing a kiss where her neck and jaw came together.

"I'm not pregnant." she whispered and she swore she could feel him relax slightly.

"good." was all he said, a child would just complicate things.

"I have to marry Kenji though." she whispered. "he wants to do it before we leave."

"When?" another kissed was placed on her neck.

"In a few days." he nodded against her now bare shoulder, after having pushed the nightgown out of the way, and then kissing the exposed skin. "He says the councilors want a child." at this Sasuke groaned wanting to just break something. Why did everyone want her to have a child?

"But he says not for a while." he let out a sigh of relief.

"good." he muttered again.

"I'll miss you." she murmured running her fingers through his raven locks.

"Aa" he lifted his head, hands still running up and down her back though. Trying to memorize how she felt. His hands grasped her sides lightly before running them up her sides, causing her to sigh dreamily.

"I'll miss you doing that." she said a little breathlessly placing her head on his own shoulder. "stay with me the rest of the night?" she asked against his shirt, her voice muffled slightly and he nodded.

She scooted over in the hospital bed to make room for him to lay there beside her. Once he was laying on his side next to her she threw her arms around his waist and brought herself closer to him drinking in his scent and his warmth. Before she fell asleep she felt one of his arms encircle her as well holding her to to his chest as he just watched over her.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Outside Hospital**

* * *

They had to have considered him stupid as they thought that they could just sneak the Uchiha into the hospital without him noticing. He already knew the Uchiha was in Konoha and he could guess accurately that they knew he was part of the rebels, if not the leader. But they weren't saying anything and everything was still going smoothly, so he would take the initiative to.....greet the Uchiha. Just to lay the boundaries down.

Glancing back through the window at the two pressed up against each other he gave off a smirk before vanishing into the blackened night. He appeared back at his room, but he didn't remain there, he had someone to _visit_. And what a visit it would be. Leaving a clone in his room he walked out of the room and out of the building he was in and made his way towards his destination.

It didn't take long to reach the once closed area, and it was even easier slipping into the area seeing as the owner was nowhere near his property. Looking inside several buildings he found the one he needed and entered into it. His eyes grazed over the edifice. It was something that rather fit the owner's personality. Seeing the first glimpses of dawn he tucked himself up into a corner and waited for the owner to arrive home.

* * *

**Konoha**

**Morning**

* * *

When he saw the first rays of dawn peek over the mount he gently roused his companion who woke instantly as well. She gave him a beautiful smile and kissed his cheek. Telling her he needed to go she clutched to him tighter to her. Giving her a kiss he was able to pry her hands from his shirt. Saying a quick goodbye to her he disappeared from the room hearing one last little cry from her before he totally disappeared, reappearing just behind the gates of the Uchiha Compound.

Taking a step forward his senses kicked into overdrive and immediately he knew that someone was in the compound. Letting his eyes bleed red he started towards his own home not being able to pinpoint exactly where the person had gone. But one step through his door told him exactly where the person was, in his home.

He walked stealthily through the house towards the living room where his eyes shot instantly to a darker corner. He could vaguely see the outline of a man standing there with his arms crossed, eyes closed leaning against the wall.

"Hello, Uchiha." the voice spoke and he stiffened upon recognizing the voice. "Been a little bit hasn't it?" red eyes narrowed. "You can stop staring at me so loathing. You brought this upon yourself, though I get to reap the great rewards. I thank you for that!"

"What do you want?" Sasuke spoke voice as cold as ice.

"I'm sure you know why I am here already. At least you can say you held up to your end of the bargain of getting rid of Daisuke for me. Though I didn't think that it would be such an intense death. A fire to the entire Estate. I heard about Sakura, how did that happen?" eyes narrowed.

"I didn't start the fire."

"You didn't?" he seemed a little surprised "Oh, that's right my _brother_ got a little too comfortable with his position and began to snoop around. My father started the fire, that's right." he murmured to himself. "Well no matter. I got what I wanted."he came out of the shadows. "And you're probably wondering what I am doing here visiting you?" he laughed. "Tsunade isn't as smart as she thinks she is and truly you gave me the perfect opportunity."

"What do you want?" the smirk grew.

"What do I want?" he hmed lightly placing his thumb and forefinger on his chin in a contemplating manner. "Let's see, I'm sure you don't want your lover to get hurt." Sasuke started. "So you follow us back to Rain, do what I say and _maybe_ I won't hurt her." the dark blue eyes became darker. "You wouldn't want anything to happen to her, right?" Kenji smirked at the raging Uchiha.

It took all of his self control to not go and beat the living daylights out of the man before him. For saying what he had said, no one blackmailed him and especially not with Sakura. His eyes remained red as he gave the infamous Uchiha glare to the man across from him. This man was threatening him and he didn't like it.

"And don't tell Tsunade or, well you don't want to know." the man chuckled and passed by the Uchiha but before he left the now open door he turned back to the Uchiha. "good doing business with you." he snickered before snapping the door shut.

Kenji smiled to himself. It was almost too easy to get the Uchiha back under control, just threaten the girl and the collar was back on with a short lease attached to it. He knew it would work even before seeing their affectionate display at the hospital. For a second as he watched he had almost wondered if the Uchiha would cross the line in the hospital, but he didn't and that was fine. He'd get his turn soon enough.

He began walking towards the Hokage Tower to inform Tsunade that he needed to return to Ame that day, though he really didn't need too, it would just speed things up some more. Approaching the tower he slowed his walk slightly, he didn't want to seem to rushed about this or she would be suspicious. Walking up the winding stairs he entered into the hallway that led to her office. Knocking on the door he entered to see her rush to cover up some papers.

"Kenji-sama, what can I do for you?" she asked rearranging some more papers.

"I need to return to Ame today. I received a message last night from one of Ame's messenger birds that I was needed back in Ame. I believe Sakura is up to the travel and would like to move everything up." Caramel eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I understood we still had several more days."

"that was the understanding but something came up that I must attend too." he told her harshly. "We don't need a wedding just a certificate, with our signatures. Is that too much?"

"Of course not. I will send Shizune to the hospital to get Sakura." the blond called for her dark haired assistant who shortly came in and received the word to get Sakura.

Within twenty minutes Sakura was in the Hokage's office with a pleased looking Kenji and a disgruntled Tsunade.

"You called shishou." Sakura stated.

"Hai, I did. Kenji-san here needs to start his return to Ame today and has requested that you accompany him today. He has also requested that the marriage will not take place but just your signatures on a marriage certificate." Sakura looked a little unpleased at the new information.

"Of course." she replied meekly. Her mission would have to start now and within another ten minutes the certificate was signed and the Rain Shinobi were getting ready to leave.

Sakura had changed into black jounin pants and a loose shirt with a pouch around her hips containing medicines that Tsunade wanted her to take one including a contraceptive, which she was internally happy for. She soon stood beside her now husband as he watched the other shinobi gather themselves together before they walked out of the gate.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Forests**

* * *

It had been a while since she had actually stretched her legs like this and she could feel the muscles beginning to cramp and tighten. Her leaps from branch to branch were getting choppier as she could barely make it to the next branch, but she steeled herself to keep going seeing as she didn't want to cause any problems with their journey but she was sure that the following day she would be lucky if she could stand.

There was another reason she steeled herself to continue tree hopping, and the reason was diagonal to her and slightly in front. She could see his determined face as they continued forward. She had half wondered if he had rushed things for his own purposes seeing as he was the rebel leader, he probably didn't have all the time to just hang around in Konoha waiting for her to get better.

She knew that he had motives to fulfill and laying around Konoha would not get them done. She was also relieved that he hadn't tried anything on her yet. She knew that for her mission to succeed that she would have to _act_ like she was the dutiful wife to a kage and everything else, but she was still a kunoichi and she figured that Kenji still knew that. She would play the part but if push comes to shove, she would shove.

That night they rested in a small clearing near a shallow river. Excusing herself she went over to the water and getting down on her knees she scooped the water up and let it wash over her face. Her legs were killing her and she could feel the strain she had put on them over the past two days. She could vaguely hear Kenji talking to the other shinobi letting them know that they would be pushing hard the next day to make it to Amegakure by tomorrow evening and inwardly she groaned. At this rate one of the would have to carry her into the Amegakure.

Splashing another handful of water on her face she began to hear the approaching footsteps of someone and looked behind her quickly before getting another handful of water. She was about to again splash the water on her face when a hand on her shoulder squeezed as if telling her not to splash the water on her face.

"We need to be in Amegakure by tomorrow evening. I noticed you were a little slow today, someone will carry you if you cannot keep up. Is that understood?" the voice was Kenjis. She nodded and was about to tell him that someone would have to carry her then, but decided against it. She could just send some healing chakra down to her muscles and get them to loosen up. She nodded and picked up another handful of water this time not being disturbed by a hand.

It was another long day for traveling and the constant rain did nothing to up her mood at all. Her hair that wasn't in the ponytail she had stuck it in was sticking to her neck and every once in a while she would have to brush it away as it caused her skin to become almost itchy. She would be glad when the hidden village was in sight and she could get out of this torrential weather. They also had to slow their pace just slightly to make sure that they would not slip on the wet branches, and she was thankful for that. It made it so she didn't have to over exert her already tired muscles.

They couldn't tell the time of day but when the temperature started to drop they knew night was approaching and that they needed to finish making it into Amegakure. Within an hour of the temperature dropping she could see the faint outlines of the tall buildings that made up Amegakure. She heaved a relieved sigh and continued to run towards the city and hopefully a warm bath if her husband permitted it. He was already starting to become overly dominant with her.

Thirty minutes later the group of five ran into the city and while the three shinobi separated as soon as they entered Sakura followed Kenji towards one of the taller buildings near the center of the city. He ushered her through the doors of a large building and led her up flights of stairs to where his quarters supposedly were. He stopped in front of a door and pulled out a key.

Unlocking the door he took them inside and let her gaze wander around the place. It was a rather large and lavish apartment. He pointed out the kitchen, a room where furniture was situated before taking her back to where the bedroom was. He pointed through another doorway and told her that was where the bathroom was and then there was a shoji door that led into another room but he told her it was a private room, and that she should not go in there under any circumstances. She nodded knowing it would be the first place to look for her investigation.

He left her alone in the room saying he had some business to attend to and that he would send someone over to check up on her. She nodded as he left the room with long strides. Immediately she went towards the bathroom and started a hot bath knowing her muscles needed it before she wandered over to the shoji door. She slid it open a little before a voice snapped at her, causing the door to snap closed. Turning around she came face to face with another woman. She had long dark hair let loose at the particular moment. She wore a knee length skirt and a revealing top.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you. Kenji-sama, doesn't like it when people snoop around his private area." she told her with a stone voice and Sakura nodded. But then the girl's face softened.

"I'm Akiko. I work for Kenji-sama. You must be Furusawa Sakura." she didn't ask but stated.

"Hai, I am." she could feel Akiko's eyes scanning her over as if trying to figure something out.

"What do you do for Kenji-san?" asked Sakura looking at the girl who could be no more than twenty yet she acted far beyond her age.

"I am like a secretary to him." it was a vague answer but neither trusted each other yet. "I help him out when he needs it."

"Oh." Sakura said dumbly. "Well, then are you supposed to help me or something?"

"He has asked me to look out for you. I will show you around the building but no more."

"Then I will just live in this building?"

"More likely just this apartment, unless he says otherwise." Akiko stated.

"I see." remembering her bath water she excused herself for a moment to turn the water off before reappearing back in the room with Akiko.

"What about your family?" She asked out of the blue, and Akiko's eyes narrowed.

"My father is a councilor and I'm not exactly sure about my brother."

"I'm sorry."

"And you?"

"Only child."

"I see, well then, I will show you around the building." Akiko stated stiffly before moving out of the bedroom.

Sakura could sense that Akiko didn't like Kenji that well and she wanted to know why. By the way the girl answered it almost felt like the girl despised Kenji with a passion and she saw the look of disdain at being in the bedroom. She could almost guess that there was something else that Akiko wasn't telling her about, but that would be for later.

The building was a large building going up almost to touching the sky it seemed. There was an elevator that could be used. She began to notice that Amegakure was a highly mechanized city rather than the country feel that Konoha gave off, but she liked that country feel. The warm colors and the friendly people. The people she had met here stuck to themselves and were quiet towards her.

Akiko pointed out the kage's office and that was where she could assume Kenji was but she made a note of where it was so if she did have the opportunity to get out of the room she could investigate the room a little. The council chambers were several levels lower. The rest of the building was made up of intelligence for the Rain Shinobi.

"I should probably get you back to your quarters. Kenji-sama is probably expecting you." Akiko informed her before she started to guide the two back to the quarters.

When they arrived back at the apartment the door was slightly ajar, letting Sakura know that Kenji was indeed inside the room. She looked at Akiko and for a moment there she saw compassion and sorrow, but it was quickly washed away when the girl blinked. She bid her goodnight and left the entryway allowing Sakura to move into the room by herself.

Making her way back towards the bedroom she entered the room and seeing a hump in the bed she figured Kenji was already asleep. Glancing around she saw a cream colored gown laying on the back of a chair. She grimaced at seeing how see through the material actually was. The man was not only a sadist that wanted to take over all the countries, but a pervert to boot and she didn't want to find out how big of a pervert either.

Changing in the bathroom she turned off the bathroom light and made her way to the opposite end of the bed where Kenji was not and crawled in between the sheets. She stayed as close to the edge of the bed as she could without falling off, only wishing that Sasuke was there with her instead of the man that she was currently sharing a bed with.

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**Hope that was good and i just have a thing for adding some twists to the story. this is seriously the most complex story i have ever written, so i hope you are enjoying it.**

**_Next Chapter: what is Sasuke up too now that sakura is gone, morning after kenji and sakura arrive in Ame, Kenji gets upset but at who and what are the consequences, preparations begin at Konoha and who is on Kakashi's team now? _**

**Update: I know i have been doing every other day, but i am going to be update thursday, early afternoon. i had a little bit of a motivation block again, but don't worry i will finish it before thursday to give you the next chapter. **

**PLEASE CONTINUE TO POLL**

**please review and let me know what you like, or don't like, or just to say hi :)**

**yoyo  
**


	25. Chapter 24: Under Someone's Control

**Here is the update I promised for today and please read the A/N at the bottom, pretty important!**

also some people were a little confused when i said Kakashi's team. what i meant was that it was another jounin team led by Kakashi and you get to see who is on the team this chapter.

**Thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favorites. **

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy the chapter.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 24**

**Under Someone's Control  
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**Fire Country**

**Forests**

**Mid-Afternoon  
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The wind ripped through his hair as he stretched his legs to cover the distance in only a short amount of time. He had learned of Sakura's departure to Rain only the day before and before anyone knew it, he was gone from Konoha. He suspected that they would easily determine where he was going seeing as how for the past few months he had always remained near Sakura. He just hoped Tsunade didn't send word to Kenji of his little departure. That man was trouble enough.

He might have been able to do some good in Konoha but for now he would do exactly what his brother had done. For this one time he would become a literal double agent. He would work for Kenji in whatever twisted things the man wanted him to do, but he would report everything to Tsunade and to Konoha, and in the end he would help stop this conflict and bring Sakura back to Konoha.

The only thing he hoped for at the moment was that Tsunade wouldn't kill him when he returned to Konoha to deliver his first set of information about the rebels and that she would see past this little incident and still be lenient on his sentence when this fiasco was all over.

But that was his worry for Konoha and compared to Konoha, Kenji was a much larger problem to worry about. He know knew that Kenji ran the upper group of the rebels, effectively making him the leader since he Rain had been the main country where orders would come from, but he had to have some inside help for him to get so far.

The night before, he had entered into the Hokage's office knowing that a file on Kenji would be located in their and had gone through the file learning about the man so he could better go against the man. It would be wise for him to just start looking around as asking around would cause suspicion and he was sure the people wouldn't voluntarily give him the information he needed or wanted. If he could find the mole that was in the higher ups that was helping Kenji with his political levels he would be able to maybe get them to give out information to him.

But the hard part would be finding the mole and that's where he hoped Sakura would be able to help as well. She was given her mission and she would do it the best of her ability that she could, while being under such a tight rein by Kenji, but anything she could find out would help him and Konoha. Increasing his speed he determined he could make it to Amegakure by tomorrow evening and Sakura should already be there.

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**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Kage Building**

**Quarters**

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It was almost a weird feeling for her to not wake and feel the body heat of the bed companion especially since she knew she had one. She was still facing the edge of the bed and slowly turning herself over she stared at the now empty space where Kenji was supposed to be sleeping, but he wasn't. Listening she tried to determine if he was in the apartment or quarters as he called them.

Hearing nothing she got out of the bed and stretched. Glancing down she immediately covered her chest area seeing as how in daylight the nightgown as basically see through and she really didn't want to flash him, even though that was probably his intention and her thoughts of him being a pervert were confirmed even more being in the nightgown.

As quickly as possible she changed from the sleeping gown and into a kimono that she found laying at the base of the bed, and then proceeded to the shower before again slipping into the kimono. It was deep blue color and almost reminded her of the blue tint that Sasuke's hair held. Tying the crisp white obi around her waist she ran her fingers through her hair. Checking herself over in the mirror she left the room after glancing at the private room that she was not supposed to enter. But it was too tempting.

She looked at the door that led into the bedroom and not hearing any sounds from the outside of the room she turned towards the room that was partitioned off by a shoji door. This time she got to where she was about to take a step into the room before she heard the voice that had stopped her the day before.

"You must be looking for trouble." the voice spoke and Sakura froze. She turned around slowly to again face the dark haired woman who was standing with her hands on her hips a frown marring her features.

"Gomen." Sakura said lowly.

"If I didn't know better you would seem like a spy. Are you?" the frown deepened.

"No!" it came out rushed and the woman closed her eyes.

"Haruno Sakura, if you go into that room, you won't like what you find." Akiko told her straightforward.

"You've been in there then?"

"Hai, I have been. That is how I found out about you."

"Found out about me?"

"Yes."

"May I then?" Sakura asked cautiously, noticing how Akiko's eyes flitted around for a moment.

"Not yet." Akiko finally told the other woman.

"Why?"

"It's not the right time. He would get suspicious if you started sending out encoded messages this early on in the marriage. Give it a week or two and then go in." Sakura stared at the woman.

"How did...?" Sakura got out.

"I have my ways." the dark haired woman said before leaving the room.

Sakura contemplated listening to the other woman about going into the room. Looking into the darkened room she could see the faint outline of the desk and a desk lamp, but then she looked at the entrance to the bedroom. Stepping out of the middle of the doorway she slid the shoji door shut and walked out of the bedroom to see Akiko sitting comfortably on one of the couches and she went over to join the other woman.

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**Rain Country**

**Amegakure **

**Kage Building**

**Kage Office**

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The documents were signed and sent away as he awaited the news of Fumio-san and if the man had come to terms with what he wanted to do. He had left Sakura asleep in his bed that morning not wanting to disturb her peaceful slumber seeing as how tired she probably was with all the stress, not that he was that caring of a man.

Dismissing another assistant that was unneeded he pulled out another folder and started to look over the contents when there came a knock at his door. He called for them to enter and the old man Yamada Arata entered into the room. He closed the folder and sat back waiting for the man to speak to him.

"What's the progress?" He asked seeing the shaking of the man.

"I have everyone except for Fumio-san. He is too set in his ways. I'm sorry." Kenji's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean he's too set in his ways?" Kenji growled, causing the man to shake even more.

"He won't even listen to what I say. He says you want to become a tyrant, just like Pein. He can't convince the others though." the old man was wringing his hands as he stood before the new kage. "Please, I have done everything I could, don't hurt Akiko." he pleaded now. Pain clearly visible in his eyes. Kenji looked at the old man.

"You know the agreement."

"Oh please don't hurt her!" Arata wailed at the younger man.

"Get out. I will take care of Fumio-san _myself_._" _ he growled at the older man who started to back away and rushed out of the room once Kenji took to his feet. He immediately called for someone to get Akiko from his quarters, where she was with Sakura.

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**Quarters**

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A knock came at the door as the two women sat there almost in complete silence each finding some reading material. Akiko put the book down and went to get the door. She opened it up and Sakura could only hear the muffled voices before Akiko closed the door and came back over to her.  
"I'm needed up at the Kage's office, I will be back shortly." she said crisply before leaving a sinking feeling in her stomach.

She knew her father was supposed to meet with Kenji that day and she only hoped that it didn't have anything to do with what her father was to report on or she could be walking straight to a punishment that was unwanted.

Knocking on the door to the office she was granted entrance. Walking in she steeled herself for what was to come. She expected some harassment of some sort. Walking around the desk to stand before the chair was facing the window holding a very upset Kenji, she stood quietly.

Hearing a small squeak come from the chair she took a glance up to see an angry face for a second before she felt the hard slap and the pain reverberating from her cheek as she now looked out the window, but she didn't dare raise her hand to her cheek or else it would just come worse. She stayed in that position until his hand grabbed her chin forcing her to look at him.

"Your father is becoming a little too....lax and being a little bit insubordinate to me." He told her harshly gripping her face tighter causing her to wince when his thumb pressed against the red mark on her cheek. "This is just a warning, but next time...." he didn't finish the sentence. He was going to let her mind imagine what he could do to her and or her father. "Now get out." he hissed at her releasing his hold on her.

She stumbled back slightly but regained her balance before nodded and leaving the room. He watched her dark eyes flashing even darker for a moment. Both of them were wearing thin on his nerves and he wasn't sure just how much longer he should keep them around. It would be easy to rid of Fumio-san. He was older in age and maybe a little poisoning would get him out his way.

Calling for one of his trusted lackeys he wrote a quick note on it and when the man arrived he told the man to take the note to a man near the market, the usual man he sent things too. The messenger nodded and left the room. Taking another slip of paper he wrote the exact same message on it and taking out the envelope from beneath his desk he opened it and tucked the new order away and then the envelope.

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**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

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She was going to kill that little prick of an Uchiha. He clearly went against her orders about staying in Konoha. She had sent Kakashi out to check on him that morning only to find Kakashi back in her office twenty minutes later with a little note saying to trust him. She wanted to pull her hair out. The prick, she was sure, had gone after Sakura. Didn't he realize the damage he could do by going to where Sakura was at?

The little incident made her groan because now along with the eminent attack upon Cloud she had to deal with the Uchiha running a muck among the rebels in Rain, unless it was planned on his part, or unless Kenji knew he was in Konoha. Groaning again that just made the prospects even worse. If Kenji knew that Sasuke was in Konoha that would mean trouble for everyone except Kenji. He would have the Uchiha playing right out of his palm.

This was way too much for her to comprehend, and along with the impending attack on Cloud she had to worry about the Fire Country. They had rebels on all sides of them. Mist, Rain, Waterfall, Grass, and she was sure that in time it would be Cloud as well. This couldn't get any worse. She would need most of the chunin and up at the borders preparing for the ensuing battle she was sure to come. As well as preparing them she had called a halt to all missions not related to the rebels, which meant the genin weren't getting in their training time as their team leaders were jounins.

She could feel the gazes of the several shinobi in the room ranging from Shikamaru to Naruto and Ino to Kakashi along with Shizune. She just hoped she would start getting some information about Kenji and what his plans were within the next two weeks or she would speculate that something was definitely wrong over there, but she had no power to do anything about it. Once Sakura had entered Rain Country she was out of Konoha's hand, now she supposed it was up to Sasuke.

"I want border patrol teams set up around the border. I want two week shifts each as well as have all chunin on up on alert for heading out to the borders for attacks." She told them with authority reeking from her voice. It was not longer play time but war time.

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**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Early Evening**

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He stared the at the city before him. He hadn't been there when he had served in Akatsuki but he had heard that it was where Pein the surrogate leader had based himself. He also knew that this was where Kenji made himself at home as well. Stepping forward he began to enter into the city in which his new _leader_ was at.

He made his way quickly through the city throwing on his hood of his cloak trying to conceal himself from the onlookers that were trying to see who the mysterious person might be. Quickly heading towards the building that he assumed would be the kage's building he entered the building and saw several shinobi walking around the lower levels, but he didn't remain there for long as he began to make his way up the stairs only asking once where the Kage's office was.

Stepping onto the floor that held the kage's office he let his chakra drift outwards trying to find Sakura, and sure enough she was on two levels above him, remaining quite stationary. Drawing his chakra back in her made his way towards the door that led into the Kage's office. He didn't bother with the knocking and went straight into the room, Kenji looking up at him as he entered into the room.

Kenji took a good long look at him before sitting back in his chair tsking for a moment before he really said anything.

"I see you took my words to heart. I never would have known the great Uchiha Sasuke would have a weakness, let alone it being my new _wife_." Sasuke's fists tightened at his side. This man was prodding him to do something stupid.

"hn." he remained emotionless about it all.

"Well that is beside the point. I must say you are a little later than I anticipated and gave your job to someone else but I will figure out what to have you do next, so just stay around and I'll make sure nothing happens to the blossom. Deal?" Sasuke nodded his head.

"I'll be here." he told Kenji dropping a piece of paper on the desk before turning on his heel and walking out of the room, down the stairs and out of the building towards his intended location, but not without a glance up the tall building knowing that Sakura was somewhere in there.

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**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Kage Building**

**Quarters**

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When she heard the door open she expected to see a different vision then the one she got. There was already a bruise making itself manifest on the girl's cheek as well as the swelling and the puffiness around her eye. Sakura wanted to question who had hurt her but she already knew the answer. Akiko had only gone to see one person, and that was Kenji. She cursed the man.

Getting off the couch she walked towards the girl who looked like she was ready to burst into tears and when Sakura was close enough that was what the woman did. Latching onto the rosette woman she let out a strangled sob that sounded both of pain and anguish. However this girl was connected to Kenji she realized it wasn't a good connection and if she had to guess it was probably through blackmail or something of the sort.

Leading the girl to the couch, the two sat down on the three seater couch and faced each other. Sakura brushed the stray dark locks behind Akiko's ear and she assessed the damage that had been done. Raising her hand she gently set it over the red area and a warm green charka emitted from her hand as she healed and soothes the swelled flesh.

"Why?" Sakura asked the still crying girl.

"I can't tell you." the other woman whispered out. "I don't want to get into even more trouble right now."

"Will you tell me later?" A nod. "Good." releasing the chakra, Sakura took another look at the area. There was still light swelling and some bruising, but she couldn't take it all away or she was sure Kenji would go into a fit, similar or harsher than what he had been in when he had hit Akiko. She cradled the sniffling girl to her as the younger one cried out her frustrations and pains to the older one.

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**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Front Gates**

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Kakashi stood idly by reading his ever famous little orange book, while waiting for his other teammates. It could very well be considered a miracle since he was at the meeting place before his other teammates. But within another ten minutes the other three jounin had arrived for their first duty at border patrol near the Rain, Fire border.

Lowering the book slightly he could already smell the stench of the cigarette smoke, the faint clicking of a senbon in someones mouth, and the impatient foot tapping of the female member of the squad.  
"I'm surprised to see you here already Hatake." a voice dripped of sarcasm.  
"Now Anko, I can be on time _if_ I want to be." Kakashi returned pulling his book back up. "Now let's get going. We have a long trip ahead of us."

"Why again did we get assigned to the rainy border. Tsunade-sama knows I hate rain." Genma moaned

"Probably sending you as far away as possible." Anko retorted, clicking her tongue.

"Now children."  
"Oh shut up Hatake!" Anko snapped. "Let's just get going. I hate sitting around all day."

"Of course." Kakashi said leading the other three out of the gates.

"And put the damn book away."

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**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Kage Building**

**Quarters**

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It was nearing almost ten o'clock and she still hadn't gone to sleep. After Akiko had stopped crying they had talked a little but nothing much about Kenji or exactly what had happened in his office earlier, but it made her man, and upset. He shouldn't have hit her, it just wasn't right. But even though it was wrong she knew that if she fought back against him that she too might receive the same punishment or even worse than just a slap to the cheek.

When she heard the door open to the quarters she leaned up in bed. She had also found another gown to sleep in. Akiko had showed her where there were other sleeping gowns if she didn't want to be to exposed to Kenji and she was grateful for the less exposure. He immediately noticed her sitting up in bed when he walked through and by the look in her eyes he could only guess she knew about that afternoon with Akiko. He should have told the girl to just go home.

"Akiko didn't deserve that kind of treatment." Sakura spoke loudly, as to not be ignored.

"She works for me, I can treat her however I please." he replied back shucking his shirt and throwing it to a nearby chair.

"It isn't right." Sakura persisted. Kenji turned to her.

"It's none of your business what is right or not right." he snarled at her. "Your job is sit there all pretty. Is that understood?" anger blazed through her system and eyes.

"It is not just my job to just sit around all day."

"What then? Want me to act like my brother did then? Probably screwing you every night. Is that what you want?" her eyes widened in fear.

"Don't you dare touch me!" she snarled back at him and he was tempted to hit her right then and there but he controlled himself.

"I'll give you the same warning I gave her. Start behaving and maybe nothing will happen." he snarled at her before getting his shirt back from the chair and stalking out of the room and out of the quarters.

Shrugging his shirt back on he made his way out of the building and towards a house he knew was very familiar. He had made sure her _precious_ father would be working later than usual and the fact he was probably sleeping like a child at his desk seeing as how he had given the man a sleeping powder, the man wouldn't be awake until tomorrow morning so that tonight Kenji could do whatever the heck he wanted to do with his daughter.

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**A little bit of a dark ending, oops. So this part of the story starts and for all of those who are not liking this it will be over pretty soon. there are not a lot of chapters in Amegakure with Sakura and Kenji. so don't worry.**

**Also i do know that Asuma is dead in the manga, but i changed it a bit and kept him alive, and the team is pretty fun together this way, so hope you like what i did.  
**

**Also, while everyone is guessing about why Danzo has the sharingan, i am going to give out what i think. I think it is Obito, from Kakashi's squad with the fourth, as obito though crushed could have survived, and like Madara everyone thought he was dead, but he is really alive. now don't flame me because i might just be wrong, it is only my assumption of who it may be.**

**_Next Chapter: I will already give out a warning, it does have mature themes in it, and does show the darker side of Kenji. so what's in the next chapter? Kenji of course, and what exactly happens, Sakura and Kenji fight a little, Tsunade figures out if Kenji knew Sasuke, and Sakura and Akiko bond._**

**Next Update: Update won't be until monday or Tuesday. I am going on a mini-vacation this weekend and really have no interest in updating while i am away, so i get a little break and when i come back a whole new chapter for you :) also if you want the update on Monday, i need to have **over**300 reviews. i was a little disappointed i didn't get as many as i was getting last chapter, by at least 5 reviews. so over 33 update on Monday.**

**please review :)**

**yoyo  
**


	26. Chapter 25: The Darker Side of Man

**Here is an update after such a wait, so here it is.**

**Thanks for all the reviews, and wow we are over 300 with the story, i really wasn't sure if it was going to happen or not so thanks to all of you who have reviewed. **

So a while ago i got a question of how long the story was going to be and i can safely say over 30 chapters. i just finished writing 28 it is just starting the prologue to the war, so over 30 chapters. that's something to look forward too.

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy the chapter**

Warning: there is some content in here that is mature. no explicitness whatsoever basically mentioning or implication of some things. Kenji's darker side comes out.

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**Chapter 25**

**The Darker Side of Man  
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**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Street**

**Night**

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His onyx eyes watched his new _employer_ head away from the building and towards a different area and being as curious as he was, he decided to follow the man. Keeping himself mostly hidden in the shadows he followed the man to a wealthier part of town. The man scarcely stopped at a door to a better looking house and just walked into the house. Creeping closer to the house he stood with his back to the wall of the home, face near a window.

Inside he could hear the struggling that was surely going on a few cursed words and then a resounding slap. His fists tightened. The man was also an abuser along with a rebel, but Sakura wasn't at this house, so who exactly was at this house? He heard the trenching of feet as two sets of footsteps made their way up what he thought would be stairs. One was definite and planted solidly on each stair as the other one was clumsy almost as if being dragged up the stairs while resisting.

He grew angry, this _man_ was probably going to do something to the poor victim inside, correctly assuming the person was a female, even though he had a wife. This man was getting more horrendous as the hours passed. He thought of the man in disgust. He had had some 'flings' before he had met up with Sakura but he had never once taken a girl to bed without her consent.

Hearing a door slam he could only turn away from the house and disappear into the shadows until the man was done so he could get some answers. It had started to rain as he stood against a wall watching the house from afar and he was sure that it was well into the morning when Kenji finally stepped out of the house, a faint smirk of triumph on his lips as he shut the door and strode away and it sickened Sasuke.

Making sure Kenji was a fair distance away before he entered the house. Closing the door softly he made his way up the stairs and stopped at the top. Everything was silent in the house except for the faint crying he heard coming from a bedroom to his right. Stepping quietly across the floor he came to a closed door where the muffled cries were coming from.

He didn't dare enter the room without knocking as he didn't want to scare the female anymore than she already was. Knocking twice he heard a short gasp and a quick come in and he could only guess she thought he was Kenji, back for more. Opening the door he let himself inside. Looking at the room he found the bed near a side wall from the door, a girl in the bed wrapped up in sheets.

He could already make out her shaking form as he closed the door and stood as far away from her as possible not wanting to scare her. He leaned almost casually at the far side of the room across from her so she had a good view of him. He kept his arms out in front of him crossed over his chest, hoping it might make the girl feel better.

"Wh...who are you?" she asked voice quivering.

"Not important." he replied smoothly.

"What do you want?" she tightened the sheets around her.

"Answers."

"About what?

"About what just happened." her breath hitched loud enough for him to hear.

"It was nothing." She replied meekly.

"That wasn't just nothing." he retorted.

"It's none of your business. Now leave." she tried retorting back to him.

"I will get answers." he told her defiantly.

"You won't get any here." she half retorted. He huffed and disappeared.

Looking enraged he glared at the house. The girl had answers, he was sure of it. But then again it was probably his sense of timing that prevented her from talking. Who would want to talk after Kenji had been there? But there was also something familiar about the girl and he couldn't place it, but then again it was dark, but he would watch out for her again.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Kage Building**

**Quarters**

**Night**

* * *

She wasn't too upset with him leaving, but the argument had kept her up, far later than she wanted to be. It was now nearing three in the morning and she was still lying in bed as restless as ever. Hearing the door open she quickly snapped her eyes shut as she feigned being asleep but it didn't fool him. She felt herself being roughly rolled over.

She tried to hit the man off of her but larger hands encased her smaller ones as she stared up into Kenji's face. The next thing she used to get him off her was her legs but within seconds of even moving one he was already straddling her and her breath caught.

"Get off." she seethed at him.

"Shut up." he hissed right back. "You listen here." he snarled at her. "You keep to yourself. What I do is _none_ of your business. Understand?" he shook her and in response she only shook her head in defiance.

"You just don't _hit_ people because you feel like it." she growled back. "and I won't submit to you that easily." she half mocked him and she saw his eyes again darken with anger. He leaned closer making sure their bodies could feel each other and again her breath hitched.

"Keep up that attitude and you'll see what I am capable of." he whispered threateningly to her before kissing her roughly.

Once she felt his lips over hers her mind lost it and though she was pinned to the bed she started doing her best to get the man off of her. It was only the second day at Amegakure and things were already getting out of hand. Managing to get one of her hands free she managed to raise it enough and gather a little chakra and slap his face. The kiss was broken and she turned her head away from him not wanting to make eye contact.

She could hear him grunt a little before making a spitting noise before cursing her. Feeling his weight get off her and the bed she began to relax more and her breaths started to come over smoother. Once hearing him rummage around the room a little she heard the door to the bathroom snap closed and she again rolled over to her side and crawled over to the very edge of the bed this time letting her heart rate slow as she fell asleep, though the adrenaline was still pumping through her body.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Forests**

**Near Fire/Rain Border**

**Day**

* * *

The four stretched as they stood upon their tree branches. The trip to the border was relatively quiet as the only sound heard was the tapping of their feet upon the tree's wood. The famous orange book was once again out and looking very bright in the dense darkness of the trees.

"that _book_ is a homing beacon for enemies." Anko snapped.

"Why say it with such distaste?" Kakashi replied smoothly with Genma and Asuma looking at the two bickering.

"Because it isn't one, rather a pornographic ensemble with words incorporated into it." She snapped.

"But a really good one." Kakashi chuckled, with the other two members laughing with him. While Anko grew angry.

It was their second day out of the village and they had just stopped to secure their holdings. The four had decided to make the small enclosed tree top area their hideout as they scouted around the area. There perimeters were 25 miles to both the north and south of the border. They would take turns patrolling the given area.

"Hey Kakashi, isn't it your turn for patrol?" Anko smirked.

"Probably."

"then why don't you get going. You have twenty five miles to cover before nightfall."

"Well, Anko don't you have patrol too, to the north. Twenty five miles to cover before nightfall." Genma laughed at the woman's expression.

"Damn you all." she snarled before starting her own patrol, the three men laughing.

"But seriously, Kakashi, you need to go to." Genma told him, and a frown became visible beneath the mask as he too sighed, stood up and started south.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

* * *

The sake bottle hit the desk with a dull thud and a little resounding noise indicating the empty bottle. The drink was probably the only thing that was keeping her from falling asleep. The buzz of it and especially since she had to track down a really strong sake to keep her awake for the past few days to get everything done.

The jounin teams had been sent out and now all she had to was what for their returns to send out the next wave of teams to keep up on the border patrols. The jounins that had genin teams were vaguely surprised to hear they would be leaving their teams to band together other jounin teams for patrols and for the impending battle that was sure to occur.

The jounins were seasoned enough to know that when something was going on it was no kidding matter, especially when all genin teams were halted to form other jounin teams. When it came to the inexperienced chunin and even some jounin, that were no real friends to war, they carried an excitement about them. Their pride bursting that they would be able to defend their country if war came to them. But they were misguided. If they were friends to war they would know that war was nothing to be proud of.

Winning a war was a great matter of pride but having to fight was a whole other matter. She herself had seen war before and knew very well there was nothing glamorous about it. Shinobi and kunoichi died along with the civilians caught in the way. There was the loss of loved ones and enemies, and yet even when an enemy fell there was always a part of them that almost wished for them to still be alive, because they were human too, fighting for exactly what their enemy was fighting for.

She could almost see that excitement in Naruto, who was ready to fight for his country but also for his friends and teammates. He had been in a blind rage when he had heard Sasuke had left again and had to be restrained to not go after the man, seeing how it would foil whatever Sasuke may have been thinking.

But it still bothered her. One day after Kenji had left Sasuke just picked up and left as well under direct orders not to. She knew that the Uchiha was really under no obligation to stay but if something productive didn't come out of what he was trying to accomplish it would just be another mark against him in the long run and might affect his status in the village if he returned when this was all over.

Then it hit her. Kenji knew Sasuke, and if just by chance Kenji had known that Sasuke was here.... She muttered curses as she tried to figure out who else could help her. Yelling for Shizune and as soon as the woman appeared she ordered her to get an Inuzuka in her office as soon as possible no questions asked.

It only took fifteen minutes before an Inuzuka was standing in her midst. The young man stood ready and waiting with his trusted canine by his side. She studied them over quickly before pulling dropping something on her desk that held the scent she needed.

"Glad you could make it in such short time." she remarked a bit of sarcasm in her voice. "I need you to track a scent for me." the boy nodded as the dog sat down.

"This scent belongs to Furusawa Kenji, who was here a few days ago." she held up the piece of cloth. "I want to see if this scent comes up at the Uchiha Compound."

"Why?" the boy asked.

"I have a hunch something happened."

"Of course." the boy walked forward and took the piece of cloth. He sniffed it himself before crouching down before the dog.  
"Smell Akamaru." he told the dog, who obediently did so, giving off a low feral growl afterwards.

Hearing something behind him, Kiba, looked over his shoulder to see the Hokage standing over him. She nodded that she was ready to get going and the three started off towards the compound with Shizune in tow. When approaching the compound Akamaru stuck his nose to the ground to begin sniffing, and once inside the compound the dog and boy led them straight towards Sasuke's house. Once inside the house the four stopped.

Kiba looked around the room before moving in towards what was the living room followed by Akamaru, whose nose was still sniffing the ground. The white dog was led to a corner and wall where both Kiba and Akamaru smelled the scent the strongest.  
"He was here and so was the Uchiha. Something must have gone on." Kiba informed them and all Tsunade wanted to do was to punch something.

She was right. The two had communicated with each other. Though a part of her told her to trust the Uchiha, she just wasn't sure if she could. The boy had made a lot of mistakes in the last few years of her life and for right now all she could do was determine that the Uchiha was working for the rebels and was on their side until she heard differently. Turning on her heel she readily left the house and compound.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Kage Building**

**Kage Office**

* * *

He had been in the office since before daybreak and working non-stop on his plans for the rebels and more pointedly, Konoha. Sakura's defiance had snapped something in him and he was suddenly eager to destroy just a little bit of Konoha, but which part. She was closest to those in the hospital, so one area that would get destroyed would be the hospital area of the city.

Unconsciously his tongue flicked against the small scab that was forming on his lip from where he had bitten himself the night before when Sakura had slapped him. In his rage he had thought about finishing what he had begun with his kiss, but he knew better than to deal with such resistance when she was on full guard and had her chakra at her disposal. If he wanted to do anything he would have to make sure that she wouldn't be able to use her chakra.

But that might not be necessary if she cooperated with what he told her about threatening Konoha. He knew that if the Uchiha was in Konoha, that Sakura might very well know that he was a rebel, but he wasn't one hundred percent sure of it and until he was he would act like nothing was out of the normal, he would just have keep a close eye on things, and he would have to make sure Akiko didn't run her mouth about anything either.

He wasn't ready to silence the girl yet, but if he had too he would, but then it would draw questions and glances to him. Everyone knew that Akiko worked for him. Her father was the only one who knew how far the working for went. Everyone else just saw her as a secretary that he had, that was a personal secretary.

But he knew that beyond the others that would question him about what happened, Sakura would question him as well and she would be harder to fool then the others. He knew she wasn't some dumb girl. He had heard the stories that a long time ago she wasn't particularly the sharpest shinobi, as she payed more attention to boys than training. But those days were gone, she was a full fledged medical ninja, that knew exactly who she was and what she was doing and could probably kill in countless ways and he really didn't want to disturb Konoha this early on in the game.

Hearing a knock on the door he answered for them to come in. Glancing up he saw Akiko enter into the room. A dark purple shirt and a black skirt. He could see the bruise that marred the side of her right eye and upper right cheek bone. Her hands wrung as she stood before him.

"My father wishes to apologize for his behavior." she mumbled quietly though he could hear her.

"Make sure he doesn't upset me again." he sternly told her. "He wouldn't another replay of what happened, I'm sure." she nodded and began to leave the room. "and next time, don't go telling my wife about your problems." he ordered her and she gave off another nod before she fully exited the room.

Eyes narrowed, he knew he would have to keep a watch out for insubordination among the closest people. It wouldn't help him if when he was so close to having everything come together and fall into place that it would all just be taken away from him, right at the edge of victory. It was only an hour later that Akiko returned to the room with a message that both Sato and Akira had just entered into Cloud and were doing quite well already. The news only comforted him more that everything would work out.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Kage Building**

**Quarters**

* * *

She was infinitely grateful that Kenji didn't come back to bed after she was able to get him off her. For a moment last night she was almost sure that Kenji would do something greater than what he did to her, but she was glad he didn't. When she had awoken the next morning the sheets weren't any more rumpled than when she had fallen asleep and listening she couldn't hear Kenji at all.

She knew she would have be more careful about things now. It was only two days and things were already starting to look bad, especially since he had used action towards Konoha against her. Getting out of the bed she stretched and yawned, eyes again drifting to the closed off room. She knew she had told Akiko that she would wait, but after last night she wasn't sure if she should. She could still look she just wouldn't write a letter, at least not yet.

Approaching the door seemed like it took a long time but in reality it was only a few short steps. Akiko had told her she wouldn't like what was in the room, but was exactly in the room? If it wasn't a mission curiosity probably would have driven her to look inside the room, just to see what might the man that owned the room might be hiding.

"Please don't go in there." a small voice behind her said. Looking over her shoulder she could see Akiko standing in the other doorway, one hand clutching her opposite upper arm, a defeated look on her face. "Just wait a little longer......for my sake." the girl whispered the last part.

Sakura looked back at the girl, with concern written in her eyes. She seemed genuinely scared at the present moment and Sakura could make out the outline of a dark bruise along the upper right side of her face. There was also a little cut on her upper lip and she could vaguely see some small, almost bite like bruises on her lower neck and a darkening shadow on one of her wrists.

Sakura stepped away from the room to turn fully to get a better look at the girl, who was seemingly cowering in the other doorway. Sakura moved her hand and motioned for the other woman to step forward into a better light so she could see the full extent of the bodily harm that had seemingly been done to the girl and as soon as the girl stepped into the light she could see the marks.

Brows furrowing and forehead creasing she didn't say anything as she took the girl gently by the wrist and led her out into the living area of the apartment and set her down on the couch before getting some antiseptic from a cupboard in the bathroom and then sitting on the same couch, facing the girl. Taking up the wrists she pushed back the billowing sleeves that were arm length to get a better look at the damage.

It was extensive. She could clearly see the faint outlines of human hands that had gripped the small hand and wrist. There were dark purple bruising where the fingers had dug into the skin and a lighter blue where there was certainly the spaces between the fingers. Letting some chakra go she partially healed the bruises to make them more faded and less noticeable.

Turning to the girl's face she pushed a few dark locks behind her ear, catching the wince that the girl gave when she brushed against the bruised flesh. Gently laying her hand against the bruised area, again she gave off green chakra to partially heal the bruising and make it so it wasn't as tender as it was before. When the bruising had diminished she gently turned the girl's head to look at the cut that was along her upper lip.

Twisting the cap off the antiseptic she squeezed a little onto her hand and then gently rubbed it over the cup that was on the marred face. Akiko's upper lip twitched when she felt the coolness of the antiseptic on her sensitive lip. She only looked at Sakura when she heard the cap of the antiseptic being placed back onto the little tube.

"Why?" she asked Sakura in a meek voice, looking at the woman who was more compassionate than anyone she had really ever known.

"No one deserves to get beaten." Sakura replied standing up and going back to replace the antiseptic. Coming out again she gave the slightly younger girl a smile and then offered to make some food for them. Akiko graciously nodded, studying the woman.

She knew that Sakura would be a perfect person to get to help her and her father escape Kenji's hand. Sakura was right no one deserved this treatment. The beating and the other cruel ministrations. Amegakure may not have been exactly the most pleasant place but it should be better than men who plundered for their gain. Only a few more days to get to know her before she would tell Sakura everything she needed to and to let her into the room.

* * *

**Hope that was a good chapter. and yeah that Akiko is starting to trust Sakura a little. and now we can all officially say we hate Kenji :)**

**_Next Chapter: Time skip, only a week so don't panic. Kenji's plans, Sakura and Akiko talk and Sakura goes into the room, an encoded note is written and deciphered, Sasuke and Akiko meet in daylight, and a little apart fluff between Sasuke and Sakura :)_**

**Next Update: my mind is a little frazzled right now from some news i got during my vacation, and it is making me not want to write, but i will try to get the next update out on wednesday or thursday. i am not sure when, but i won't make you wait too long.**

**_I have another poll going just for fun so go do it. _**

**Please review:)**

**yoyo  
**


	27. Chapter 26: Enlightenment

**Here's the update. hope you will like this update. a lot of stuff in this chapter. =)**

**Thanks for the reviews, that i got. they are appreciated.**

also got a question if Akiko was a kunoichi or just a secretary.

Akiko is only a secretary, her brother is a shinobi, but not her.

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy the chapter!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 26**

**Enlightenment  
**

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* * *

  
**

* * *

**1Week Later**

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Kage Building**

**Kage Office**

* * *

The news had finally come and it pleased him greatly. Now everything else could proceed. Writing quick messages he called for them to be delivered to the respective recipients. It was almost time to put the larger plan into motion and then everything would be final. After taking over the Fire Country it would be the Wind Country and then up into Rock.

Things were working out well with Sakura as well. She hadn't been putting up a fight lately though he still hadn't done anything to her since that night a week ago, but he could feel her eyes glaring at him once in a while just proving to him that he hadn't broken her. She was still as rebellious as ever towards him and that really didn't surprise him, and quite frankly he really didn't care how she acted, at least towards him.

The only thing he cared about was what she knew. He was still uncertain if she knew that he was a rebel. Every night when he was sure she was dead asleep he would go into his adjoining office and make sure that everything was in its place making sure she hadn't broken the rule of going into the room, because if she did she would know that truth.

Pushing thoughts of the pink haired woman out of his head he made sure the door was closed securely before going back to the desk and pulling out several maps with markings on them. The Rebels had control of Mist, Grass, Waterfall, Cloud, Sound, and Rain, after the final order was carried out. He would have Sato move back towards Sound and Waterfall and that would be where he attacked the Fire Country, while Ichiro came in from the south east from Mist, and Aira came in from the North from Cloud and he would move in to the Fire Country from Rain.

Most of the shinobi were already loyal to the rebel cause. The loyal shinobi had brought the cause forth to the other shinobi and soon all the councilors would be supporting the rebels as well seeing as how they would receive some compensation for their solid duty to the supporters of the cause to an extent. There was only one person standing in his way and the man would soon be put to silence.

One week, he liked the sound of that. One week before they would enter into the Fire Country and take over Konoha and the other pathetic little villages that lay between them and Konoha. Then the Hokage would be put to death, the Uchiha tied to a tight leash and Sakura truly his along with the victory that the rebels would savor before turning towards the other two larger countries that would soon also fall to the rebels, and then they would re-create the nations and forming them into one great nation.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Kage Building**

**Quarters**

* * *

She watched the dark haired girl with deep curiosity as the girl moved around the apartment area. The dark haired woman was pacing the area and Sakura could see the sheen sheet of sweat the girl was working up.

The week before when Akiko had shown up she had been severely bruised and only one name had come to mind but when she had tried to pry a name from the startled woman she got no answer just that she couldn't tell or she would be in even bigger trouble, and Sakura couldn't help but feel a little guilty. If she hadn't confronted Kenji in the first place then whatever happened might not have happened.

Akiko's eyes darted to the rosette that was sitting placidly on the couch, just waiting for her to say something, and she knew she would have to say something. She had told the other woman to wait a little while before she would say anything or the woman could enter into the room that was adjoined to the bedroom, but it was now that time.

"You can go into the room." Akiko stated slowly and looking at the ground. "but I warned you." she gave off after a moment and she could feel the jade eyes locking on her form.

"What's in there, that you don't want me to find?" Akiko looked at the slightly older woman.

"That would require the whole story." eyes darted around again.

"We have time." Sakura cajoled and Akiko sighed. She would tell the woman the entire story. Taking a deep breath she looked at the ceiling before looking at the rosette.

"You know that Kenji is rebel?" Akiko asked.

"Hai, I do." Sakura answered and then motioning for Akiko to start her tale.

"I was seventeen, when I heard of the rebels. My brother was for what the rebels believed. I didn't know what to think of anything myself, but I loved my brother and supported him." she began. "Six months later, he was called to serve under a man named Ichiro, I haven't heard from him since." Her eyes closed as if remembering him.

"Several months later I met Kenji, and at first he was a nice man towards me and then one night he came into my father's home and threatened both of us. My father is a councilor here in Amegakure. Kenji wanted him to help persuade the other councilors to join his cause as well as the shinobi, by threatening my well being and life, and it worked." she sniffed.

"Ever since then we both have been working for Kenji, I in more ways." she closed her eyes again. "Then the rebels started to make their moves and that's when all the information came in. there were informants in all the nations. Files on shinobi flooded into his office by wayward ways, but they came in." she paused again. "I knew that no one really knew about Kenji, as well as his father being a part of the inner group as well. When I heard of Daisuke's marriage I felt bad for the woman. She was unknowingly putting herself in a dangerous position, and then I heard about Kenji, using the Uchiha to get rid of his brother as well as having Jiro, an informant at the estate doing something as well."

"What did Jiro do?" Sakura asked her stomach becoming queasy.

"I found an envelope of orders that had been given out one directed specifically at Jiro since he was at the estate. Kenji found out that his brother's wife was expecting and he knew the child would get in the way. He ordered Kenji to place a toxin in the food and drink to cause the woman to miscarry and then send the Uchiha in to strike when they were vulnerable, but then things went wrong and you know that part."

"What's in the room then?" Sakura asked the now shaking girl, her mind reeling from the news that her child's death was ordered by her current husband.

"Files. Files upon files of shinobi from all nations. Notes, histories, journals, dates, everything that would convict Kenji of being a rebel." she took another deep breath. "When he was gone to Konoha, I snuck into the room. I found out about you in there. I always knew that something was off when he seemed exceptionally delighted to find out just who exactly Kenji married. When I looked at your file I knew that we would have similar situations. He would threaten you to obey, to keep Konoha safe and use Konoha to keep you stable and under control."

"May I then?" Sakura asked a little cautiously.

"Of course. I said a little while." Akiko moved towards the bedroom motioning for Sakura to follow her. The two made their way into the room and then through the shoji door.

Sakura stepped from behind Akiko and walked further into the room, switching on the light that was sitting on the desk. Her fingertips ran over the folders that lay on the desk. Akiko told her her file was in the top right drawer under a few other files. Sakura cautiously opened the drawer not exactly knowing what to expect.

Opening the drawer she looked at the names that were already written onto the files and her throat caught, being squeezed tightly. Names of her friends, companions, and loved ones adorned the off yellow color of the folders. Digging through them she finally came to her folder and gently tugged it out of its place and holding it in front of her she started to flick through her. Looking over everything it said she closed it and replaced it, looking at the other files as well.

After looking through several of the files she turned her attentions elsewhere to investigate. She flipped through papers that held names of enemies and loved ones. There were dates, names, and maps. Her stomach clenched painfully as she looked through everything. She found an off white paper sticking out of another folder, tugging the paper she read the words before the urge to vomit couldn't be restrained and before Akiko knew what was happened Sakura was rushing past her towards the bathroom only to hear the sounds of someone losing the contents of their stomach in a violent manner of retching.

Akiko walked towards the bathroom to see pink hair contrasting against the mint white of the toilet. She gazed at the sick woman for a minute before getting a rag, getting it wet and then assisting the girl in helping to clean herself off a little. Helping the pink haired woman lean back Akiko could hear the woman's still labored breathing.

"Oh Kami." Sakura whispered trying to quench her nausea she turned to Akiko. "Do you know when he wants to enter the Fire Country." The dark haired woman shook her head.

"No, though I know that all countries around the Fire Country are secured to the rebels. I would only assume it would be soon." She told the recovering woman.

"I need to get a message out." Sakura rushed out.

"Of course." Akiko helped Sakura up and then made their way out of the bedroom and to the table in the kitchen. "Do you want me to write?"

"No, I'll do it. I just need you to make sure it gets sent out."

"I can do that. I have access to the messenger birds." Akiko pointed out for Sakura who nodded her head in approval and getting a piece of paper and an ink pen she began to scribe a note.

_Tsunade-shishou,_

_I know you are probably worried about me but I have had to delay writing seeing as I am still adjusting into my new surrounding and getting acquainted with all that is going on here. I must say that the past week and a half have been trying for me but I have had a companion to help me. _

_I have recently been taking in my new surroundings and have found some things very interesting as the days have passed. There has been a seemingly Sparkle in all the darkness that are in this place and it has shown me in great detail how Clear things have been in other countries. Kenji has been sending very Persuasive men to help him deal with the other countries. _

_It is constantly raining here making things look bleaker than they really are. There is a friend here that says something about a First child being in the midst of corrupt practices and had no idea what might be happening back at home and with the departure of this first child gone it has been making a friend suffer as well as myself seeing as there are dealings that have been beaten down by one person. _

_Time is short and I hope this reaches with you speed. I have also realized that last names have begun to mean nothing to me, but that my first name is all that I have to look after, for it is what set me apart from this world. _

_With love,_

_Furusawa Sakura_

"Get this to Tsunade as fast as you can." Sakura rushed out at she began to fold the note and thrust it towards Akiko.

"What's in it?"

"Coded messages, now go, it _needs_ to get to Tsunade as soon as possible." Sakura urgently told her.

"Alright." Akiko rushed out of the room with the paper securely hidden in her attire.

Approaching the bird area she slowed her pace, trying to appear cool about everything. The guards asked her of her business and she told them a note was to be sent to Mist due to Kenji's orders and with little reluctance the men let her through. Scanning the birds she selected the bird that would head to Konoha and securely tying to paper to the leg of the feathered animal she sent it off watching as it took flight to the skies.

Sighing deeply she left the bird area and was headed back through the streets to stop at her house real quick before getting back to Sakura, when she was suddenly grabbed at the waist a hand covering her mouth and dragging her into the alleyway near her home. She heard a voice telling her to quiet down and that there was no threat and that if she were to be released she wouldn't scream. She nodded and the hand disappeared and she faced her capturer.

She looked up at the familiar face that she had seen in her home a little over a week ago after Kenji had taken out his frustrations on her as well as her father's insubordination against him. She gasped lightly before backing herself against the alleyway wall.

"What do you want?" she hissed at him.

"Answers."

"I have no answers." She hissed at him again.

"What did you just send off?"

"Why would I tell you?"

"It's important."

"To who, you?" The man nodded.

"It was for a friend, she needed to get something to somewhere."

"Was it Sakura?" her eyes widened.

"You know Sakura." the man nodded again. "how?"

"Not important."

"If you want information then you better make it important." he groaned.

"We're...." he couldn't say lovers, that just might make the girl smack him. "acquaintances."

"How so?"

"Has she mentioned the name Sasuke?"

"Are you Sasuke?" he nodded again hoping he could trust the girl. "Look, Sakura just sent a message to Konoha about things here. She's got things taken care of just don't get yourself killed." he looked at her quizzically.

"How..."

"Your files say you were lovers." She stated a little smugly and he cursed out loud. "Trust her."

"Has.....?" he couldn't finish the question, but she knew what he was asking.

"No. She won't let him." he sighed a little too loud for his liking and again cursed. "Don't worry. Where are you staying?"

"That building." he pointed to a smaller looking building with apartments in it. "Second floor, room twenty-eight." she nodded.

"If I have any news for you, I will come to you." he nodded, deciding to trust the girl.

"Give Sakura this." He held out his hand and placed something in Akiko's hand. She looked down at the object and nodded.

"I will get it to her." he nodded and disappeared her now looking at another dirty wall. Sighing she again made her way to her house, eating a small bite and then heading back to where Sakura was at her give her her gift.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

**Night**

* * *

She was once again looking through all the information she had straddled about her desk. It was getting a little, or rather a lot frustrating when there was no news from your apprentice, none from a certain Uchiha and no news about what the rebels might even be thinking of doing. Taking a drink from her bottle she set it down and again started going through the documents. A knock was heard soon after midnight and a messenger from the bird area entered.

"Hokage-sama, a message from Rain." The man told her placing the rolled paper on her desk, which she almost greedily grabbed for. Unrolling it she scanned its contents before giving out a groan. It was late and of course Sakura had written in code, but what did it mean. Yelling for Shizune she called for her to go get Shikamaru to come to her office.

A half hour later a disgruntled Shikamaru stood before her in the office, still wearing his sleeping pants and no shirt, but holding onto it in his right hand as it dragged the ground. Yawning he started to shuck it on when the older woman began talk.  
"I received a message from Sakura. I need your help in decoding it." she told him firmly and he gave her a 'what-the hell' look.

"You called me at nearly one in the morning to decode something?" the blond nodded. "troublesome." and the boy walked behind the desk to look over the note. After reading through it several times, he began to talk.

"Here at the end is what you need to focus on. See how she says first names are more important?" the blond nodded. "that means that there are first names included in here that give away the leaders most likely. She wouldn't just put in useless names."

"Okay. Let's read through it again and see what we can pull out." the boy nodded and they began reading the note out loud.

"Let's pull words that stand out in here. See a 'sparkle in the darkness.' probably referring to someone who is good in a sense."

"But what is the name?" Tsunade asked.

"What names have anything to do with a sparkle?" Shikamaru asked.

"Shizune!" she yelled. "get in here and help us out." the dark haired woman came in and went to stand on the opposite side that Shikamaru was on.

"What's the first clue?" Shizune asked.

"Sparkle. What names deal with sparkle?"

"I think the name Akiko has something to do with sparkle, I think a sparkle child or something." Shizune said.

"So we have a woman named Akiko, probably a friend helping Sakura out." Shikamaru said. "Now there are a few other capital words here, probably also names. We have Clear, Persuasive, and First child."

"Persuasive would be Satoru, if it was a man." Tsunade told them.

"So a man named Satoru or maybe even Sato for short." Shikamaru stated.

"Okay, Clear."

"You know Akira, at the hospital?" Shizune asked, and Tsunade nodded her amber head. "I asked her what her name meant and she said clear or bright."

"So a man or woman named Akira." Shikamaru yawned.

"Most likely a man." Tsunade pointed out. "What use would there be for two women and when in context it says something about other countries. Akira must be leading a group of rebels."

"Okay, now First Child." Shikamaru, scratched his head. "there are a lot of names that point to a first child. There is Ichiro, Keiichi, Shoichi, Taro, and Yoichi. It could be any of them." He shrugged.

"Yes, but only one clearly says first son." Shizune pointed out. "Ichiro, is the only name that directly means first born. The others are insinuations of the first born." Tsunade nodded.

"Good point. Sakura would only give us the most accurate information about the men." Tsunade defended her apprentice. "So we have the names, anything else?"

"She says time is short. I believe she may be referring to the time we have until the rebels strike, but it also means she doesn't have the exact time either." Shikamaru yawned again.

"That's right. It just means we are going to have to be very on top of things as they come our way." Tsunade nodded at her own musings. "We will look again later in the morning, which means you need to be here at nine in the morning Shikamaru, we may still be able to find hidden things within this message." The boy grumbled but walked out of the room glad he could go back to his sleep for another couple of hours. He didn't see why they just couldn't have done this later anyways, when he wasn't sleeping.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Kage Building **

**Quarters**

**Hours Earlier**

* * *

Akiko walked back through the halls to reach the quarters where Sakura was at, holding the object tightly in her hand. She hadn't realized that Sakura's lover was directly in Amegakure and the one that had visited her that night or she might have been more willing to give a little information away that night, but at least she had some good news to cheer the other woman up with.

Knocking on the door Sakura opened the door and let her in before the rosette when back to sitting on the couch snacking on an red apple. Akiko approached the woman after having closed the door and sat down on a vacant chair across from the pinkette.  
"I met someone while I was away." Akiko began and she saw Sakura's face pale a little. "But it wasn't bad. They were very nice and wanted me to give you something." Sakura's brow creased.

"Who was it?" Akiko didn't answer but held out her hand.

"Take it. It's from the person." She said and Sakura let her hand out as well holding it right below Akiko's to receive the object.

Akiko's hand opened and a small metal object landed in Sakura's hand. Not closing her fingers she brought the object towards her so she could get a better glance at it. Her eyes widened at seeing the object. It was the Uchiha fan on a thin silver chain. The fan wasn't very big maybe as big as her thumbnail but it meant the world to her.

"He's.....here?" She questioned and Akiko nodded.

"He's trying to help you. He wants to help you. He's gathering information as well."

Sakura could feel the tears start to well up in her eyes. She had always shown emotions way to easy. A part of her was relieved, her lover was here in the same city and though they couldn't see each other, she could almost feel his presence. It was in the same city and a part of her was comforted by the fact that he was with her in some small way.

But did Kenji know and if he did, what was he doing knowing that her lover was in the same city with her? She shook the thoughts out of her head not wanting to think about that right now. She slowly unclipped the chain and motioned for Akiko to help her place the necklace on her. It was a dangerous move if Kenji saw it but it helped her feel calmer. The pendant fell just above the valley of her breast and her finger nails traced the fan. Oh how she loved that man.

* * *

**Hope the ending was nice, it may not have been the fluff you were expecting but hey, it was romantic, at least to me. Also i did do some research on the names, and they are exactly what they mean, or close to.  
**

**_Next Chapter: More decoding, Kenji being an ass, Sasuke pays a visit to the patrol team, More of Kenji being an ass and his truth revealed and how does the Amegakure council react to it. but don't worry it won't last for long._**

**Next Update: I will admit, i totally suck at fighting scenes and that is what chapter 30 is, so i will try and get an update out by friday or saturday, but also i need **_at least 10 reviews. _**so with that said, hope to give you an update in a few days, it might be saturday just because i am going to be gone most of the day tomorrow, but i will try for friday.**

**So reviews please :)**

**yoyo**


	28. Chapter 27: A Rebel

**Here's an update. **

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy **

**thanks for the reviews.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 27**

**A Rebel  
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* * *

  
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* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

* * *

The three were once again gathered around the desk looking at the note that Sakura had sent. They had figured out the names that were hidden within the note but now it was time to take a closer look at everything. Shikamaru scratched his dark hair as he once again looked at the note. There had to have been even a little more than just a few names.

The three read and re-read the letter over and over again trying to see if anything else could possible be a clue to something. Even when someone would start to say something they would not finish their thought and dismissed it as something unreliable.

"What about this line?" Shizune asked.

"What line?" Tsunade asked.

"The one where it mentions the first child in the midst. If you take out the 'd' in the word it spells, Mist."

"Yeah, so?" Tsunade pondered.

"Maybe Ichiro is the man in the mist country, the one the prisoner was under. Maybe he would know something about Ichiro." Shizune told them a hopeful gleam in her eyes.

"Maybe, we would have to do another interrogation on him." Shikamaru pointed out. "We may not have the time for that." the two females nodded.

"Okay, so we know that Ichiro is most likely in Mist, what else can we pick out?"

"There looks like theres something else about a first child." Shikamaru said pointing to the paper. They looked at the given area. "with the departure of this first child gone it has been making a friend suffer as well as myself seeing as there are dealings that have been beaten down by one person."

"What about it?" Shizune asked.

"It's the beaten." Tsunade blatantly told them. "Since the first child is not capitalized, it refers to someone else, and with the person's departure, it means that someone or someones are getting beat."

"You mean like possible blackmail?" Shizune asked.

"Precisely." Shikamaru straightened himself up. "One person is doing the beatings and I can give one good guess."

"Kenji." muttered Tsunade. "He has to have been beating someone or someones but who?"

"That can depend." Shikamaru pointed out. "There is also another female with Sakura, it could very well be her and maybe her family, and we can't rule out Sakura as being beaten as well. I wouldn't put it past Kenji to do something like that, he is a rebel after all."

"That _man_....." Tsunade seethed. "is going to regret the day he was born." the two other occupants in the room stared at the enraged Godaime and both nodded their dark heads in unison.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Kage Building**

**Kage Office**

**Previous Day**

* * *

His front stood towards the window dark eyes still watching even after seeing the dark haired woman both exit and leave the building. The first time leaving with a haste that could have only meant that she was trying to get something out of Ame and most likely by bird since she had the authority to enter into the bird area. He would visit there later.

But then it had taken her almost a half hour to get back to the building still walking with a little haste to her strides and he could sense she knew something. He had known it would have only been a matter of time before the secrets that shrouded him were revealed. He was also almost certain that Sakura knew just exactly who he was, seeing as how she and the Uchiha were so close to each other.

Grabbing a small piece of paper off the desk he exited the room and then the building heading straight towards where he was sure Akiko had gone. Winding his way through the streets he entered another building and walked up the stairwells and then down a long hallway. He soon came in view of the two guards that stood outside the doorway into the bird area.

"Kenji-sama." both male guards said in unison and he nodded to them in acknowledgment.

"Has Akiko been here recently?" he asked and they nodded.

"Hai, about an hour ago." one of them spoke forward.

"Arigatou, I just wanted to make sure the message got sent, as it was of _great_ importance." he nodded to the guards and then left them re-tracing his steps.

Exiting the building he looked at the small piece of paper curled inside his fist, now his second stop. He detoured almost to where Akiko's house was located at, but went a little farther and entered a five story building with apartments in it. He walked up the sets of stairs to the second room and then down the hallway to the designated room number that was sketched onto the paper. Knocking on the door, he heard some fumbling around inside before the raven haired Uchiha opened the door, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Hello, Uchiha." Kenji stated almost smugly. " I hope that the accommodations are to your liking, but then again you picked the place out yourself." Kenji entered pushing the other male out of the way. "I have your first task for you." Sasuke closed the door and folded his arms.

"What is it?" He asked sharply.

"Come to my office in three days at noon. We need to discuss some things."

"About what?" Sasuke asked agitated now.

"I don't have to tell you. Just do as your told and the cherry won't get hurt." Kenji rounded on the Uchiha. "Got it?" onyx narrowed and bangs waved a little as the raven's head nodded. "good." Kenji nodded and exited the apartment leaving a very heated Uchiha in the room.

Kenji walked away from the room and building with a smirk on his face. It was entirely too easy to get the Uchiha back under his thumb. Just even talking about Sakura made the Uchiha start riling up. But there was a part of him that told him that if he pushed the Uchiha too far, things wouldn't end well at al and he needed the Uchiha to help him with his little plans.

Entering into the building that the kage's office was in he nodded ever so slightly to a man shrouded in darkness at the far end of the long entry room. Seeing the figure disappear from sight his lips twitched upwards and he continued walking and up the stairs to back to the office. The last pe

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Apartment Building**

**Room 28**

* * *

A dull thud was heard and then little yell of outrage. He was sure that no Uchiha had ever acted the way he was acting at the moment but it gave him an outlet for his pent up anger towards the man that called himself kage. Every time the two had met so far the man would have to bring up Sakura and it made him madder than hell.

This was between them and Sakura shouldn't be used as leverage for him to cooperate with him, though on Kenji's part it was a smart move. The man had to know that him and Sakura had been intimately involved in some way, but knowing Kenji, he was sure that he knew exactly what was going on and it pissed him off. But he had one thing that Kenji didn't have. He had an element of surprise. He could very easily send the information that he and Kenji would discuss and send it straight back to Konoha, so they would be prepared for whatever Kenji was planning.

Closing his eyes momentarily he knew he had to control himself or everything would end in disaster and that would not be okay with him or anyone else for that matter. Running a hand over his face and then through his hair he began to calm himself down and take controlled breaths as he regained his composure and started to do some damage control to the apartment.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Kage Building **

**Quarters**

* * *

she had been extremely nervous ever since she had let Akiko head to the bird area to send the message and even when she had returned. The only comforting thing that Sakura had was the knowledge that Sasuke was in Amegakure and he had given her the small pendant necklace. She had been happy knowing that the message had been sent but something inside told her that something was about to go wrong.

Akiko was sitting reading a book when Kenji came into the apartment, looking less than pleased. Ordering Akiko out, the dark haired woman scuttled out of the room not wanting to have any reason to make the man mad. As soon as the door was closed Kenji seemed to round on Sakura, who had stood up from where she was sitting at. The two made eye contact and for a horrible second Sakura seemed to freeze. She practically felt that Kenji knew what she had done.

Kenji didn't say anything to her but instead he walked up to her his legs taking long strides and even before Sakura knew it he was looming over her, eyes boring into her small frame. Her legs automatically began to step back but his hand caught her arm forcing her to stay in place. Bending his head down to her level he placed his cheek against hers, letting her feel his breath against her ear and unconsciously she shivered in fright.

"Better start shaping up." was all he said before giving her a bruising kiss and then walking out of the room.

only when she heard the sound of a lock moving she came to her senses and realized that the man had locked the door from the outside, effectively making sure that she didn't leave the room and that no one but himself could enter into the room. Not wanting to believe that she had not quite literally become a prisoner inside this small area she twisted the door knob, finding it hard and unmovable.

This was just too much for her now. She didn't mind being babysat by Akiko but being barred and locked in, quiet literally, was too much. He just couldn't assume that she would just sit idly by as he did whatever he wanted to her and to others. But from his words she knew that he must have known that she was the one that sent Akiko to send the message, and now the bridge between her getting notes out of Amegakure were gone. Now all she had was the slugs to get a message out but how long would it take for a slug to get to Konoha? Only one way to find out, and Tsunade had to know that Kenji most likely knew what was happening.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Kage Building **

**Kage Office**

* * *

the man from the shadows was effectively waiting in the shadows of the office when Kenji opened the door and made his way towards the desk. Pulling out a small envelope he passed it to the man. The man opened the envelope up and read the contents of the assignment.

"Three days?"

"Hai. It will help play into another plan that I have. I already have Amegakure under my thumb except for that little nuisance. Once that nuisance is gone, then everything will be in place so that I can start the attack."

"Of course, and it will be done." the man said before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

It was really all too perfect if Kenji had to say so. He had thought it would be a tad harder getting the Uchiha to come to Amegakure, but Sakura was proving more effective as time went on, except for the little glitch of her sending that bird to Konoha. He would have to tell the guards to check all notes that went out if they did not have his stamp on them. But he was sure that it wouldn't affect the progression of his plans. She didn't know that much anyways. Now all he had to do was wait for a few days and then things would really get interesting.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Forests**

**Fire/Rain Border**

**Night**

* * *

Patrols had been put on hold for a little while so it meant that the four of them were stuck together in their little hideout for a few more hours. The teams weren't called back in and the only message that was give was to stay put but keep an eye out for anything and that attack would come shortly.

The group had all semi groaned at the news, knowing that if Rain shinobi attacked they would be on the first line. They thought about blowing the nearby bridges cutting themselves off from Amegakure and the rest of Rain but they didn't want to make the first offensive move, though to them it was defensive.

Luckily though they hadn't started the war of words with each other yet, though at times it seemed that it would happen. Kakahsi as usual had the Icha Icha book out yet this cover was a light blue a relatively nice change from the brilliant orange that would be a welcome beacon to any enemy. Of course Anko had had to put her opinion of the book in and that of course had sparked a little word battle but didn't get very far.

The four were resting, and surprisingly Kakashi didn't have the now light blue book out covering his face but now laying open on his chest as he tried to catch a few minutes of sleep before he would take over watch duty. Anko was on duty while the three men slept, backs against their respective trees.

The sound of weight on a branch caught the harsh woman's attentions and quickly roused her three sleeping companions who all had at least a weapon in hand and ready for whatever might be coming their way. Soon enough the shadow of a man began to outline itself. They couldn't see the person's eyes but when they did become visible the four let out a small sigh upon seeing the crimson red and black commas.

"Sasuke, what are you doing here?" Kakashi inquired looking at the younger man.

"Yeah, what are you doing here, _dog._" Anko bit out viciously and the red eyes rounded on the woman.

"News."

"what news?" Genma asked.

"Sakura, sent a message to Konoha, but I have information as well." Sasuke told them in a hushed tone.

"What news then?"

"Kenji's planning something, an assassination ,I believe, of a councilor. He wants to meet with me in three days to discuss things. He is using Sakura as leverage against me and Konoha."

"What does he want to discuss?" Kakashi asked.

"Most likely maps of the Fire Country and Konoha."

"I see." Kakashi mused. "Do what he asks and report back to us as soon as you can. We can reach Konoha faster."

"Aa." the Uchiha replied before his shadow began to filter back into the trees and the darkness.

"An interesting turn of events." Asuma murmured receiving nods of agreement from his companions.

"An assassination though? Who would Kenji want to assassinate?" Anko inquired.

"Most likely a member of the council that isn't letting him get away with what he wants." Genma replied tongue clicking the senbon. "should we tell Hokage-sama?"

"No." Kakashi bluntly said. "she doesn't need to know just yet." the others nodded and the clearing fell silent.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Kage Building**

**Kage Office**

**Three Days Later**

* * *

Moving in the shadows was easy for him as he made his way towards the kage's office. Once inside the building it wasn't hard to keep in the shadows, he just took a different way to get to the office, the way that no one really used. Moving quickly he found the back stairwell and began his ascent towards the kage's office.

His visit to the team that was waiting outside the Fire/Rain border was very unfruitful to the extent that he had only given them assumptions of what was really going on, but if there were assumptions then there was hopefully a possible truth in it and that was what he was hoping for. He knew that Kenji was acting anxious and was awaiting the day he could give the signal to invade the Fire Country as well as Konoha.

But he just wasn't sure how he would convince the last councilor to go along with Kenji. The man had seemed too set in his ways to even consider what Kenji was suggesting, so he was again assuming that Kenji had a plan up his sleeve that no one knew about and in all reality he wasn't really looking forward to finding out what that plan might be.

Upon reaching the office instead of knocking he just let himself into the room. He was met with Kenji sitting in his chair with the same dark haired female on his lap. From where he was standing and how the two were sitting, he could tell that Kenji was probably harassing the female and giving her orders, or a replay of almost two weeks ago would take place.

The woman got off the lap after Kenji had roughly kissed her and Sasuke cringed the man was such a lecherous man. He had a wife, that hopefully he didn't do it with but threatening a girl by sexual consequences was a bit prude. The woman glanced at him briefly before leaving the room, and from the feel of it the woman wasn't heading back to Sakura and that gave him a touch of worry.

"Right on time, Uchiha." Kenji said laxly steepling his fingers and resting his chin on them. "I wasn't sure if you were going to show or not, but it was a good thing you did."

"What do you want?" Sasuke tried to resist the urge to growl at the man.

"Ah, yes, I have been having a little difficulty finding a _perfect_ way into Konoha." he took out several maps and placed them on the desk. "Now I know you haven't lived in Konoha for a time, but you can still be of use." Sasuke grunted. "Now is there any entrance that leads into Konoha that won't be well guarded?" The first question came and Sasuke remained silent and Kenji lost his temper slightly.

"I want an answer Uchiha, or something _might_ just happen." Kenji threatened and Sasuke replied.

"The Hokage monument. It's a back way into the city. Most of the civilians head there. The only guards are of genin and chunin rank."

"Great." Kenji replied acting like a happy child. "Now what about......"

that was how it went for several hours, Sasuke telling Kenji of ways to get into Konoha, about some of the other shinobi that Kenji didn't have files on, and on whatever else Kenji thought it necessary to inquire of the clearly upset Uchiha.

It was nearing five when the Uchiha was dismissed and another man entered into the room a few minutes later. The man looked at the back of th Uchiha as he walked down the hallway in the opposite direction that most came from.

"Ah, Izuo, tonight's the night. Here it is as well." Kenji pulled another envelope from within his desk. "There will be council meeting tomorrow evening, I want everything to stay quiet until then, can you keep everyone away, until then?"

"Hai, I can." the man responded.

"Good, here's part of your payment. The rest when the job is done." the man nodded took his payment and left the room.

Kenji was back at the apartment at an earlier time than he usually was, startling a half naked Sakura who had just gotten out of the shower and was currently aiming to get an apple. He could clearly see her fingers digging into the towel to make sure it didn't slide down. Smirking he approached her, with her taking steps backward into the bedroom.

"So that's what you want." he voiced huskily to her. "I'm sure I can oblige." her eyes widened as she realized she was only a few feet away from the bed.

"No!" she squeaked out fingers continuing to dig into the towels softness.

"Are you sure." he teased her, taking a finger and dragging it up and down her bare, exposed arm and then across the top of her collar bone.

"I'm sure its been a while since, you have had such....._pleasure_." he stepped closer to her and she realized that if she continued to back up she would laying with her back against the bed and that was not what she wanted.

She could feel his ghosting breaths across her exposed flesh and then she flinched almost violently when she felt his lips touch her. Shutting her eyes tightly she tried to imagine it was Sasuke doing this to her.

"I have a meeting with the council tomorrow." he said, nose brushing the curve of her neck and shoulder. "They will ask if we have tried to _procreate _ a child." he kissed her neck and she shivered, not wanting him to continue. "They would be disappointed if I had to tell them no." his hands were now clutching her hips, forcing the towel to head in a northern direction.

"Please don't." she whispered. "I don't want to." she added at the end, hoping it would make a difference.

"Then why are you reacting to me?" he could feel the stiffness her breasts gave off through the towel.

"Just...please." she begged quietly to him. She gave off a sigh when he stepped away from her.

"Then don't tease me again." he told her, kissing her lips harshly, and then he left the bedroom to head into the adjoined room.

She rushed back into the bathroom, grabbing a kimono on her way in. Taking another shower to clean her upper body off she dried herself again and slipped into the kimono before leaving the bathroom quietly and slipping into the bed curling the sheets around her and inwardly praying that she wished Sasuke was with her.

Reaching a hand behind her pillow she brought out the pendant necklace and wrapped her fingers around trying to draw some strength from it. Hearing the shoji door begin to slide open she quickly replaced the necklace and pretended to be asleep not wanting to deal with another incident with Kenji.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Building**

**Quarters**

* * *

the man slipped in with ease and noticing the sleeping man he began to take out his mission. Puling the small vial from his pocket and the powder from another pocket he found a small glass. Filling the glass with a fair amount of water he opened the vial and let the liquid inside the vial empty into the glass before taking the powder and letting it slip into the glass as well.

His eyes watched as the liquid in the glass began to turn from a green color into a clear white and then he watched as the little bit of haze rose from the glass. Placing the glass almost silently next to the bed he made sure to blow the haze towards the sleeping man before backing off and then leaving the area.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Kage Building**

**Council Room**

**Evening**

* * *

The men were in deep discussion after the council had discussed the absence of one of the council members, but after some smooth persuading the men let it be and began to talk about current issues, or more importantly the Kage's death. All men had their assumptions of what had happened and who to blame.

Sakura sat in a chair near a set of doorways. Kenji had _insisted_ that she attend the meeting. It was a nice reprieve from being stuck inside an apartment with no one. Ever since she had sent the letter Akiko had never come back to the apartment and after that she was sure Kenji knew what she had done. She gave off a small yawn in boredom.

A councilor was speaking when the council doors burst open and a man came in visibly sweating. All the councilors and Kenji looked towards the man that had burst into their meeting. The man heaved for a few breaths before he was finally able to speak.

"I.... Fumio-san is dead." the man got out and gasps were heard from within the room.

"Shut the doors." Kenji ordered and the doors were immediately shut. "Now what happened?"

"I went to check on Fumio-sama. I knocked on his door and he didn't answer, so I took the liberty to enter into his home and when I went into his bedroom he was dead. There was a glass with a strange looking substance in it. I can only say that Fumio-sama was assassinated." another uproar was created in the hall.

"Silence!" Kenji replied before standing.

"this is the second murder that has happened in nearly a month." a councilor spoke outraged. "If this continues, anyone of us could be next."

"These rebels are going to far!" another spoke.

"It isn't the rebels." Kenji finally spoke.

"And how do you know?"

"Have the rebels ever done anything to Amegakure or the Rain Country?" He spoke

"what about the kage then? Who killed out first kage?" Another councilor accused.

"I can not say for sure it wasn't the rebels who killed the first kage, but Fumio-san wasn't killed by rebels. I was out last night when I saw a man walking around Fumio-san's building. I followed the man and watched him enter into the man's quarters only to re-appear a few minutes later."

"Who was it?" a councilor asked, clearly agitated.

"I didn't see the man's face, but I saw a symbol on his back. I have seen this symbol around Amegakure for the last few weeks."

"Whose symbol?" the same councilor asked.

"I believe it was the Uchiha Clan Symbol." Kenji finally told them.

The name caused an uproar with the councilors as everyone began to talk with themselves and those around them.

"That's a lie." a female voice was heard and the councilors and Kenji looked over to where the voice had come from. Sakura was standing hands gripping her kimono as she looked angrily at Kenji.

"Of course she would say that." a man guffawed. "she knows the uchiha clan personally." the man continued. "She would never want harm to come to such a clan." the other councilors nodded.

"Kenji-sama was with me last night." she spoke fiercely. "He_ never_ went out last night." She shot out at Kenji.

"You were too tired to realize I had left, Sakura." Kenji scolded, eyes telling her to be quiet. "I checked on you before I left." Sakura began to shake, this man was lying through his teeth about this.

"And last time I checked, Furusawa Kenji, you were head of the Rebels." she spoke loudly and clearly, sending the council hall into silence. Anger was blazing in the man's eyes and Sakura knew she had crossed the line with the statement.

"Kenji-sama, is this true?" all the men looked at Kenji as his eyes darted around.

"Hai, it is true. The rebels aren't what everybody says they are." he told them. "We want to gather all nations together to create one nation."

"But why Kenji-sama?"

"I may only be in my twenties and not old in this life but I have seen war and death. The rebels want a world without the fear of war and deceit and death. Think about having one nation. No blood thirsty leaders, only leaders who want peace. Sure there will be conflicts between men, but they won't have to end in war. A better nation and life is what the rebels want." he told them proudly and Sakura's heart dropped. He was coercing them into following him, her plan had failed.

The men began to nod in agreement to what Kenji was saying and Sakura wanted to tell them of what he had done. To her, to the other nations, to people. What he did to one of the councilors and to Akiko, but the councilors were going to follow Kenji. Looking at Kenji she saw him looking at her with a gleam of triumph in his eyes. He was mocking her without saying anything and her head slumped forward onto her chest.

* * *

**Hope that was good.I don't have a lot of time right now so i won't do the normal things, i am about to head out of town on short notice.**

**Update; seriously, at least 10 reviews. i am a little unsure of when i can update next just because of what is going on. i am taking the chapters with me and if i can update i will do so at the earliest.**

**please please review.**

**yoyo  
**


	29. Chapter 28: Blowing Up

**Here's the next chapter. i was going to update yesterday but i didn't get 10 reviews, but here is this chapter, and YOU NEED TO READ THE BOTTOM A/N NOTES. HIGHLY IMPORTANT!!!**

**Thanks to those who did review. thank you**

**Disclaimer: DNON**

Warning: little romance with Sasuke and Sakura near the end, nothing too bad, really, so i didn't mark it but it starts a few paragraphs up from Rain Country down near bottom.

* * *

**Chapter 28**

**Blowing Up  
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* * *

  
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* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Apartment Building**

**Room 28**

**Night**

* * *

He hadn't been sleeping merely laying on the bed, hands behind his head and legs crossed at the ankles. He couldn't sleep was more like it, ever since that afternoon in the office, he couldn't help but feel he was betraying Sakura by giving out the information he had about Konoha, but if he didn't then he placed her at risk for getting hurt.

He turned to his side and had closed his eyes going to try and find some sleep when an incessant pounding began at the door to the small apartment he had gotten. Groaning he though about just letting the people knock, but listening to the pounding he knew something was off. It was too urgent of a pounding to be something innocent.

He grabbed his haori that was next to the bed and shucked it on as well his pants and sandals before grabbing his kusanagi and sliding the sheath into the space between his clothes and the cloth belt he had tied around his pants to hold the sheath. Shrinking into a corner he decided to let them come to him rather than him going to them because if it was due to a violent nature that they were here he wasn't going to step right into their trap. His thoughts were cut off when he finally heard the shouts from outside the door.

"Open up murderer!" a man cried out from behind the door. His eyes narrowed wondering why they would come here to call him a murderer.

"Open up coward. Too brave to kill a man but not face us!?" another voice shouted through the door.

His thoughts tried to look back to see if he had killed anyone they knew, and that's when it hit him. He had been out earlier finding something to eat when he had heard that a prominent councilor, a man by the name of Fumio had been assassinated. They couldn't think he actually killed the man? He had heard of the shutting of the council doors and how people had gathered to try and here what was going on. He had also heard the Kenji had apparently come out to say he was the rebel leader, but that it came out forced. A woman had somehow known that Kenji was a rebel.

"Sakura!" he whispered harshly before grabbing a small pack and disappearing from the room.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Kage Building**

**Quarters**

**Two Hours Earlier**

* * *

she was practically flung into the room as soon as Kenji had to the door opened after having been dragged up the flights of stairs from the council room until they arrived back at the quarters and she knew she would have a nice hand bruise marring her skin the next day.

She nearly dropped to the floor but Kenji's hand had caught her upper arm again and was forcing her to move towards the bedroom. Getting tired of the man's strength she used some of her own pulling against the man's grip. Once he felt the tension and the resistance he faced her anger blazing in his eyes. He quickly rounded on her sending a well aimed slap to her face. It was loud and hard and her head was flung to the side mouth gaping as she tried to collect herself from the dizziness that had just ensued.

He pulled at her again and this time she moved forward without resistance, but stumbling behind him. She felt her body being thrown towards the bed and the only thing she felt after that was the softness of the bed before a prick in her neck. She let out a mewl of pain as her hand shot to her neck wanting to reach the now agitated area, but a hand forcibly stopped her own.

"Don't even think about it." was all she heard him growling at her. Her face looked upwards and into his won. "You're lucky that they went along with it, or else you would be dead." he snarled at her and she felt her energy leaving her.

He thrust her away from him and more onto the bed before leaving the room in a rage. He knew he had some work to do and first was sending the messages to begin the attack on the Fire Country. She heard the door close and the she proceeded to drag herself the rest of the way onto the bed crawl over to her side and reach under the pillow for the necklace trying to reassure herself everything would be alright.

As soon as Sasuke was out of the apartment he was heading straight towards the Kage building. He had to maneuver around several search parties for him but he was sure he was partly safe when he reached the building and started heading up the flights of stairs, again going the back way, to the floor on which Sakura was on.

Hiding in the shadows of the hallway that held the room Sakura was in he slid along the walls to get to the room. When he searched for her chakra he could hardly feel it. Speeding up his pace he soon was before the door that he could sense Sakura's chakra inside the room. Trying the door handle he was met with hard resistance but he couldn't wait anymore so with slight impatience he again grabbed the handle and let electric currents run from his hand to the lock and indefinitely opening the door.

Pushing the door open he unsheathed his kusanagi just in case someone was waiting for him inside. He closed the door behind him while creeping into the room and continuing to feel the weakening of Sakura's chakra. Pushing open another door he stepped sideways into the room kusanagi in front of him. Finding out it was a bedroom he opened the door even more and walked cautiously into the room and was greeted by the sight of Sakura curled up near the headboard, breathing lightly and visibly shaking.

He approached the bed, sheathing his kusanagi. Making it over to the bed he placed a hand on her shoulder and crouched down to her level, so if she opened her eyes she would see straight at him. Moving his hand from her shoulder to her neck he checked her pulse. It was slowing down but not at a deathly rate.

Standing up his eyes scanned the room. Seeing the glint of something come from the exposed counter of the bathroom he walked over and picked up the small capped needle. He studied the remaining liquid in the vial attached to the needle and placing it carefully in his pack he had brought with him. He knew if it was anything dangerous she would need medical attention, she would need to go to Konoha, and he didn't care how mad Kenji would be.

Hearing the main door to the apartment creak open he got into a defensive position. He waited until the person made it into the bedroom and when they did they found his katana at their neck. The head turned and he met the familiar face of the woman he had subdued in the alleyway a few days previous.  
He lowered his sword.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, still not letting his guard down and she held out an envelope to him.

"This is all the orders he has given out." onyx looked at the envelope and then the girl who still had the envelope in her hand. "I also placed other information in there as well. You need to hurry back to Konoha though. He just sent out the word to the others to start their attack on the Fire Country. The birds will get there in a at least a day."

"What about you?"

"I will stay here. I am of better use here than anywhere else." she gave off a small sad smile. "Tell Sakura, that I appreciated all that she did for me."

"What did he give her?" Akiko was about to turn away.

"If it is what I believe it to be, then it is a induced sleep. A sleeping formula to keep the person asleep for a period of time,depending on how much was give." Sasuke pulled out the vial and needle.

"How long?"

"With that amount, probably a good two days possibly three." Akiko told him examining the vial before giving it back to Sasuke. "But you should get going. I know a back exit." she told him. He nodded and went to pick up Sakura and noticed the necklace he had given to the girl to give to her clutched tightly in her hand. He held her in his arms, one arm under her legs and the other around her mid back, hand resting against the side of her rib cage. He nodded and Akiko began to lead the way out of the building and out of the city.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Forests**

**Fire/Rain Border**

**Mid-Day**

* * *

They had still received no orders to make any kind of movement. They were all still sitting around in the trees when a familiar creak of a branch was heard coming from Rain. They all expected to see Sasuke but not the sleeping woman in his arms. All sets of eyes looked at each other before turning back to the couple that was before them.

"Sasuke, what happened?" Kakashi asked nodding to Sakura.

"Sleeping formula." he responded.

"Okay, what about Kenji?" Anko snapped.

"He sent the word to attack the Fire Country last night." Sasuke replied numbly.

"What did you tell him?" Genma asked. "when he wanted to meet with you." he finished.

"Where the teams were that were patrolling the borders."

"Smart." Asuma blew a smoke cloud out of his mouth.

"We need back up though." Kakashi stated, "we can't go up against an army with only the four of us."

"We'll destroy the bridges like we did all those years ago." Asuma pointed out and the others nodded.

"It will be a message to Tsunade to send out the other teams to help the other patrols as well." Genma said, chewing thoughtfully on the senbon.

"Then let's blow up a couple of bridges." Kakashi stated warmly.

That evening the five overlooked two bridges that connected Rain to the Fire Country. They didn't have anywhere near enough explosives to take down both bridges so the next best thing was their ninjutsu. With the lightening that both Sasuke and Kakashi had it would be one hell of a blowup. Anko and Genma placed the explosives they did have at the ends of both bridges. Asuma strung wire from each set of explosives on both bridges while Sasuke and Kakashi placed themselves on the Fire Country side of the bridges getting ready to blow them up.

Once they knew that Anko, Asuma, and Genma were out of they way and back where Sakura was propped up against a tree, they pulled the strings releasing the explosives as well as sending a stream of electricity towards the explosives that were about ready to explode. A loud boom was heard the three standing near Sakura covering their faces from the debris that seemed to shower them.

After a few minutes the smoke began to clear and everyone taking their arms from their faces looked at the wreckage. Both bridges were now unaccessible, being broken and torn. There was maybe a foot of walking space to start going over the bridge before the only thing was the dark abyss below the bridges. Sasuke and Kakashe rejoined the others after a few minutes of making sure that it was completely inaccessible.

Kakashi then summoned Pakkun and once the pug appeared, the pug looked over at the wreckage before making a smart comment that got him reprimanded slightly, before he was told to head towards Konoha to tell Tsunade that the rebels were to attack the Fire Country any day now. The small dog nodded and took off without hesitation.

Sasuke went to pick up Sakura letting them know that he too would be heading to Konoha with Sakura and he also had something to give to Tsunade. The others nodded to him before they too set out finding another bridge to successfully destroy.

It was their second day of travel the first consisting of helping Kakashi and his team destroy the two bridges. Sasuke had found a small clearing and was effectively starting a fire to keep them warm when he noticed that Sakura was beginning to stir against the tree he had propped her again. Walking over to her he crouched down in front of her and waited for her to wake up completely.

The first thing she did besides open her eyes was groan and place her hand against the side of her head, as if trying to dull a terrible ache that was there and when she did open her eyes he could clearly see the haziness that was interlaced with the jade green, causing the once vibrant jade to become a murky jade color.

He watched as she tried to regain her senses closing her eyes a time or two before opening them and actually looking around at her surroundings. He watched as her eyes passed over him to look at the forest and clearing they were in before they came back and focused on his crouching form that was right in front of her position against the tree.

Her eyes rested on his form and he knew that she was trying to make sense of everything without asking any questions. She soon let out a sigh but he wasn't sure if it was out of relief or of something else. He was tempted to reach a hand out towards her but he didn't and instead he continued to gaze at her.

"Where are we?" her voice was finally heard.

"Fire Country." he replied shortly.

"Why?"

"You were in trouble." He replied curtly, "and so was I."

"Because Kenji blamed Fumio-sans death on you?" the Uchiha nodded.

"What about Akiko?" she asked once again looking around.

"In Amegakure."

"Why? She could have gotten out with us."

"She didn't want to come."

"But Kenji...."

"Will be taken care of." Sasuke finished the sentence. "We are heading back towards Konoha to deliver information." Sakura nodded before she started to reach for Sasuke, burying her head in his clothed chest.

"Don't ever leave me again." she whispered as she turned her head on his chest so her cheek was resting against the cloth. She felt his arms wrap around her and his head bob up and down in response.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

* * *

To get the news that two plus bridges were being destroyed near at the Fire/Rain border was quite a bit of a shock. She wasn't expecting any sort of movement of offense or defense for quite some time but when she saw the brown pug that was sitting unceremoniously on her desk when she turned around from staring out the window she knew that something had gone terribly wrong.

And of course the story came out. Amegakure now knew that Kenji was the rebel leader and were whole heartedly supporting him in his ways. Pakkun of course explained the explosions at the border as a defense strike for the impending attack of the rebels against the country as well as the other locations.

Once finding out the needed information she immediately sent runners to the teams that had been formed for the attacks and within two hours teams of four were running out of the gates each heading towards their respective locations that they were assigned to help fend off the imminent attacks that were coming.

A part of her was almost glad that this war was coming because as soon as it came the sooner it would be over and then things could go back to a relative peacefulness and she wouldn't have to worry about the rebels any longer. The next thing would be the wait to see what Amegakure would do. She was almost certain that Kenji would probably meet his death in this war seeing as how he had Sasuke after him for threatening Sakura and Kenji was also on her hit list as well.

It was nearing night when there was a soft tapping on her door and she told the person to come in but one look at the entering persons made her back stiffen slightly and frown. She really wasn't expecting to see Uchiha Sasuke standing in front of her with her very own apprentice right behind him looking a little dazed.

"I was wondering if I would be seeing you again, Uchiha." she crossed her arms in front of her larger bosom.

"I have information." was the only thing the raven haired man said as he pulled an envelope out of his pack and handed it to the honey haired woman, who graciously took the package. Eying him carefully she began to pull out the contents of the package.

Her eyes roved over all the notes and messages that were contained as well as the other files that someone had deemed worthy enough to put into the envelope with the other contents. Tsunade hummed lightly as she gazed through everything taking everything that was before her into memory.

"This is quite a collection of information. Who gave it to you?" Tsunade asked with curiosity. She needed to know if the information was valid to trust.

"Akiko." Sakura answered. "She helped me when I was Ame. She was also someone that was.......close to Kenji, in the rebel area. Her father is a councilor and was threatened to help Kenji." Sakura went to explain, knowing that look in her shishou's eyes.

"Okay then, now why are you here Sakura? Not that I'm not happy to see you, but aren't you supposed to be in Rain?" the two in front of her shifted on their feet, Sakura more than Sasuke.

"Kenji injected a sleeping formula into me and..." Sakura was cut off.

"I thought it would be best if she returned to Konoha for the war." Sasuke blatantly stated. "Kenji has a history of abuse and rape, it was no longer safe for Sakura to remain there." he continued and both women gawked at him. Tsunade in surprise at seeing the Uchiha worried over the shocked female behind him, while Sakura gawked at the man that had just said it seeing as how he was concerned for her.

"Of...of course." Tsunade got out still stunned at the response the man gave her. "Well then, welcome back Sakura. Your apartment that you had had to be leased out so I can make some arrangements for you for the time being." Tsunade was saying but was interrupted.

"She can stay with me." The Uchiha spoke again causing the two women to again become shocked.

"I'm not entirely sure if that is appropriate, seeing as how Sakura is a married woman." Tsunade pointed out.

"Tsunade-shishou isn't there a way for me to 'get out' of the marriage with Kenji?" Sakura asked a pleading look in her eyes and Tsunade sighed heavily.

"Let me see." she ruffled around her sets of papers and pulled out the certificate of marriage between Sakura and Kenji. "You're marriage to Daisuke ended when he became deceased. Seeing as how Kenji is still living the best thing I can do is this." the two looked at her with curiosity and watched as Tsunade took the certificate and ripped it into several small pieces. "Now get out." Tsunade said sharply. "I have other things to do now." Sakura nodded and as the two turned to leave Tsunade said one last thing. "Oh Ino has some of your things Sakura." was all they heard before the two shut the door and left the office and soon the tower.

The two walked silently next to each other. Sakura had told Sasuke that she would need some of her things so the two were first headed to Inos and then Sasuke's house. When Sakura had knocked on the door it was greeted by Ino's mother who was currently taking care of the place as Ino was out on one of the fronts. Sakura asked if the lady knew where her belongings were and soon enough she had a box of her old clothing before her first marriage, and were walking towards the Uchiha compound.

The two continued walking towards the Uchiha Compound Sasuke adamantly carrying the box that they had gotten from Ino's. Sakura had complained that it wasn't his things and that she should carry it but he silently refused to let her carry the box. Sakura shrugged and followed the Uchiha to the compound wordlessly.

Sasuke led Sakura through the streets towards his own abode, her standing and looking over the place when they both arrived. He told her to follow him and breaking from her reverie at the house she hurried her pace and was soon beside Sasuke in his new home. She wandered around the home after watching Sasuke walk up the stairs to deposit her box. Once looking around the bottom area of the house she went up the stairs and found Sasuke in the master bedroom her box on top of the bed.

"Sasuke, this is your room." she said hoping the implication would be obvious and he just shrugged.

"So?" he said back, starting to head out of the room.

"I can't stay in your room. It wouldn't be courteous. It is your room not mine, I can find another room." She said starting to lift the box but a hand pushed it back down.

"You will stay in here." was all her told her firmly shoving the box harder into the mattress. She blinked and nodded at his declaration of the box staying put.

That night Sakura had made due with the supplies in the house and made them both a dinner that was nicer than what they had been eating as they had traveled. Sasuke had looked pleased with the food that she had served and she had a feeling of gratification.

Following their meal she had gone upstairs to take a shower and when she was done she wrapped a thin navy blue towel stitched with the Uchiha symbol around her body. Once the fog cleared from the mirror she looked closer at her face and saw the light swelling that was still present on her cheek from Kenji's slap.

Lightly she touched the area and let a small flow of green chakra emit from her hand and take the swelling the rest of the way down as well as small amount of pain that came with touching the sore area. Not paying attention she didn't notice as Sasuke entered the bathroom and stand right behind her until she felt his breath and his image in the mirror.

She didn't turn around but watched his image in the mirror, just waiting to see what he would do. Her eyes watched as he lifted his arms and then watched as they encircled her shoulders hand coming together for a moment before separating and she saw the necklace he had given her in Amegakure. Her body shivered as his hands clasped the necklace together brushing against her bare neck and shoulders.

Unconsciously she closed her eyes when she felt him kiss her bare shoulders and his hands spread across her cloth covered stomach causing another shudder to run through her body. Only he could ever make her feel like that. She felt his hands tug against the towel and her hand that had been holding it up let it fall free baring herself to him, and the next thing she knew she was turned around so fast she wasn't able to realize her mouth being invaded by his.

Feeling his hands roam her back made her arch herself towards him, while her hands twisted up into his hair and before she knew it he had lifted her up, forcing her to wrap her legs around him for support and him exiting the bathroom to make his way to the bed with her in his arms.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Kage Building**

**Days Earlier**

* * *

After leaving Sakura he went back down to the council room and began satiating the councilors again on what his plans were and making sure that they were totally behind him he had seen that several men were already trying to storm the Uchihas small residence to get the murderer of Fumio-san. But when the man had come back empty handed a few hours later he was not at all pleased.

The Uchiha had somehow escaped his little apartment, but where would he go? Cursing himself he began the long march up to the quarters to check up on the woman he had put to sleep for a few days. The woman was going to be the end of him if he didn't do something to her first. Again cursing himself he began to up his pace to get to the room.

When he got to the room he found the lock useless and he again cursed loudly before stepping into the quarters. Nothing in the main room was touched but taking long strides to the room he thrust the door open and looked at the now empty bed. He knew exactly where the Uchiha had gone. He had come here to take Sakura back or at least away from him.

Going to the adjoined room he found nothing missing and was at least a little satiated that nothing from the room had been stolen, but where would the Uchiha have gone? The man hadn't been in Amegakure long enough to know the back ways out. And then one name came to him. Akiko. She had to have led him out of Amegakure with Sakura. Both of them were wenches and would get what was coming to them, at least in time.

Storming out of the bedroom and quarters he made his way back down to the meeting rooms to begin the attack preparations on the Fire Country. The messages to the other leaders had already been given out and now it was his turn to start his own plans of attack.

* * *

**There's the chapter. Hope it is good. so things are going to start getting good. **

**Note: there will only be 31 chapters to this and i am working on the last chapter right now and am about half way done with it. also, the reason why last update was so rushed was because some things came up and i got a job in the state where i am going to college and the job starts next week. yeah. but, i am getting a new computer but it needs to be shipped to me, so, this is what is going to happen. **

**my last day on the internet will be tuesday and then until i get my own computer and get it up and running will probably be about a week from next wednesday. i will still be on the computer but for work, because of what my job is. so on monday i will change my email to my other email so you can still pm me if you want to say anything. but for those of you whose stories i read and those to who i review to as well, don't expect a review after next Tuesday for a little while. i will try but i will not guarantee anything. **

**so that brings me to my next thing. i want to get this story done and posted before i can no longer use the internet for extra-curricular activities. so i will post the last three chapters everyday until friday if i get 10 reviews, by the next afternoon. i think you can do it so let's do it.**

**Next chapter: two main fronts, dealings in Konoha and with Kenji, sasuke and sakura head out to their battle front.**

**Please please review!!! just 10 reviews.  
**

**yoyo  
**


	30. Chapter 29: Preparation and Attack

**Here's the update i promised if i got ten reviews, and i did and a few more.**

**thanks to those who reviewed. you are all great =)**

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy the chapter.**

**also some of you were asking which fic i was going to start next, and it will be FORCED. i don't know when i will exactly post the first chapter, i have an idea so hopefully it all works out. summary is on my profile page.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 29**

**Preparation and Attack  
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**Fire Country**

**Forests**

**Fire/Rain Border**

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The team had found another two bridges that they had successfully destroyed cutting off all bridge routes to the Fire Country, but they knew they couldn't stop other ways of entering into the Fire Country, but it would just make it harder for the Rain Shinobi to enter into the country. Most of the border consisted of a long river that was encased on both sides by daunting walls of stone, which was why most ways to each of the countries was by bridge.

The team was now back at their holding area waiting certainly for the teams to show up to help keep the border secure and to wait until the shinobi came in for the main attack. The four were on their toes keeping track of any chakra signatures that could possibly come by or the birds that could even possibly look like a messenger birds that could come by.

It was also a different atmosphere with the four as well. No smart remarks were coming from Anko, but that was because the normally orange or blue book that was out was no longer in sight as the four kept up with their surroundings they didn't have the time to bicker or read that material.

It had been about four days since Kakashi had sent Pakkun and Sasuke had left them as well. It was nearing midday on the fourth day when a group of familiar chakra signatures were noticed approaching them and within ten minutes four other teams stood in the trees around the patrol team. It wasn't nearly enough to hold the borders with vigor but until they could pinpoint the exact area of attack the five teams would be enough for the moment.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Uchiha Compound**

**Morning**

* * *

the first thought that ran through her mind was that everything was a lot warmer than it had been for the past few weeks. Shifting under the sheets one of her legs came into contact with another leg and then the tightening squeeze on her waist. Blinking her eyes opened she looked up to meet the face of her bed companion.

He was still asleep to her knowledge, his eyelids closed hiding his thunderstorm orbs and his raven bangs falling over part of his face as he continued to sleep on. Again repositioning herself she pulled her upper body over his own bare chest her hands gripping his sides head against his hard chest, where she started to lay kissed to his bare skin.

She felt him shift under her and then when her eyes looked up at his face she could see those thunderstorm eyes gazing down at her. Eyes locked together she placed another lingering kiss on the middle of his chest. He crooked an eyebrow at her movement and immediately she felt a slight blush creep up into her face. She was trying to seduce him! Starting to roll off of him his hands stopped her.

"Why stop?" his voice filled with sensuality and huskiness asked her. She didn't respond so he responded for her. Rolling her over he looked down at her before giving her another spine shivering kiss.

Two hours later he stepped out of the shower wearing a pair of dark jounin pants he noticed that she was still in bed, navy blue sheets wrapped tightly around her smaller figure, her breathing even as she laid with her back on the bed, arms spread around her. He smirked knowing that this was exactly how it should be. Leaving the room he made his way down the stairs to start looking for food that was in the house. After grabbing a tomato from the fridge he was about to head back up the stairs when a knock on the door caught his attention and he made his way towards the door and opened it to reveal a chunin he didn't know.

"Hokage-sama wished to see you and Haruno-san in her office as soon as possible." the chunin blurted out avoiding eye contact with the Uchiha.

"Aa." was all the response the chunin got before the door was closed and the footsteps that were in the house faded away from the door and only then did the chunin move his feet.

Sasuke made his way back up the stairs finishing the half eaten tomato. Stepping back into the master bedroom he walked over to where Sakura was still sprawled out under the covers of the bed. Finishing up the tomato he gently woke up Sakura from her sleep and told her that Tsunade needed to see them. Upon hearing Tsunade's name Sakura was already fumbling around trying to get the sheets off of her before heading straight to the shower, and Sasuke didn't miss the extra swing in her hips from their activities that night before.

It was only another hour later when the two were in Tsunade's office once again being grilled for any information on Kenji and the rebels that could possibly help Konoha in defeating them. Both Sasuke and Sakura gave off all the information that they knew of. Sakura had some more insight of the things Kenji knew seeing as how she had looked in his private room in the quarters.

Then they were given their orders. They would be given a few days to recuperate from their travels and from their time in Amegakure before they too would make their way out to the battle field. No messages had come in yet that any of the rebels had started to make an offensive strike against the borders but they were both told that when the messages did come in that they would be off to the Fire/ Rain border, Sakura as s medic and Sasuke as a shinobi. The two nodded at their orders and left the office both bearing some sort of frowns.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Kage Building **

**Kage Office**

**2 Days Later**

* * *

He was once again in his office finalizing the plans that he had so carefully been planning for the almost the last week. Ever since he had discovered Sakura missing, or rather gone, he had done nothing but work on the plans for entering into the Fire Country and taking over Konoha. The only thing that dampened his plans was the messages that he had received notifying him that the bridges that connected the Rain Country to the Fire Country, were very well destroyed.

It had angered him slightly but after recovering from his small fit of rage he had gone back to planning the entrance into the country in another way. He thought himself stupid to realize that it would one of the first moves that Konoha would do to prevent him from entering into the Fire Country, but there were other ways he would just have to look closer at his maps to discover the entrances that would be able to assist him in entering the country.

He was in a way glad that Sakura was no longer around, though it took away his leverage against Konoha as he no longer had their precious medic and Hokage's apprentice. He had been furious and had gone after Akiko knowing that it was her that had helped the two escape Amegakure without anyone knowing, because she was the only one that knew the several unknown entrances and exits into the city.

Once he had found he cowering away at her home he had given her a beating that didn't compare to his beatings before. He even had half a mind to end her life, and it would have been easy and no one would suspect and even if they did he could have said he had done it but only for the good of Amegakure, as she had helped the Uchiha escape. But he had not killed her, she was still of some importance, he still had her father to deal with as well.

Getting up from the chair he made his way out the doors. It was time to start his movement. The other groups would or rather should be starting their move against the Fire Country any day now and he was anxious as well to start moving his own shinobi to take over the Fire Country. Calling for several shinobi he told them to prepare to leave at first light.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Shoreline**

**Fire/Mist Border**

**Ocean **

* * *

Cerulean eyes looked over the vastness of the great waters that were placed between him and the enemy. This would be his second time in a full out battle against an enemy and at least this time the odds would be more even than when he was up against the Akatsuki.

But even though he had been apart of that battle and had seen the carnage the Akatsuki had done and though Konoha had prevailed, and even with everything that came with the battle his heart still beat faster and his blood pumped through him welcoming the enemy. He may have still been new to the art of war but he was well prepared for it.

He knew that many shinobi would have chastised him for being so eager to enter into a fray of war but he had always longed to feel that adrenaline rush that came with the battle. The wind through one's hair as they moved towards the enemy, the resounding pulsing in the head letting them know that they were literally at death's door. The movements that caused one to live or to die, it may have been wrong for others to feel such a thing but to him, he thrived on it.

He _hated_ taking the lives of others, he wanted them to live and the continue on with their lives, that were cut short by the sharp edge of a kunai or by the ability of one's jutsu to kill their opponent. When in battle it was invigorating, but the one thing he also hated was the fact that he was away from those he loved.

The wind picked at his spiky hair as it blew through the clearing the ten squads were settling at. His fist tightened as he thought about Sasuke and Sakura. Both were most likely deep into enemy territory when all this was to happen. He sent a silent prayer up to the gods to watch over his friends before turning to the members that were on the same squad as him.

Sai and Yamato stood near each other talking quietly with Shikamaru, most likely about battle strategies since they were right up against the body of water. It would a harder area to defend from the rebels. Across the clearing from the three that were in conversation was another team made up from the rookies that took the chunin exams together. Hinata, was standing with Shino, Kiba, and Choji. Ino was back in the medical squad that was sent to help them.

There were also other jounin and several chunin that were around the area preparing for the enemy to arrive. Most were sharpening their kunais, shurikens, and even some their ninjatos. Naruto was approaching the group that held his girlfriend when a murmur started rippling through the area, the enemy shinobi were coming.

Shikamaru followed by Yamato ran over to the edge of a rock encasement to peer out over the body of water and sure enough on the horizon there were the outlines of several ships. Another murmur ran through the ranks, telling everyone to prepare for the oncoming battle and then another one to inform Konoha that they were about to engage in hostility acts and to send reinforcements. Fourty shinobi wouldn't be enough to hold the vast amount of enemies that were coming their way.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Hokage Tower**

**Evening**

* * *

she wasn't that surprised when a messenger ran into the office informing her that the shinobi stationed at the shoreline of Fire and Mist had met with the rebel forces and she acted immediately. Knowing that once one group made their way towards the Fire Country the others were soon to start their attacks as well.

Immediately sending word to the shinobi that were waiting to get dispatched she sent ten more teams to the shoreline before sending out more teams to the other borders as well and well within an hour Konoha was vacant of almost all of their jounin squads. Only a few jounin would remain but other than the select few the others would be scurried off to the borders to fight, as well as a good portion of the chunin squads.

She would keep the village lightly guarded so that the borders would have the best defense. It would be better if the battle was outside of Konoha and near the borders where there wasn't a lot of civilians. It would be safer and though there was a distance between the borders and Konoha in the end it would all be for the best.

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Amegakure**

**Outer Perimeters**

**Morning**

* * *

He felt almost rejuvenated that he was wearing his shinobi uniform rather than the nicer more formal clothes he had been wearing he was performing his duties as the kage. He watched as several squad leaders made their way through the men towards him. He had said he had wanted to speak with them before they had set out towards the Fire Country. When they were in front of him he began.

"We head off in groups of ten teams with a ten minute time interval. No stopping until you get within a hundred meters of the border." he spoke with declaration.

The men nodded their heads before heading back towards their own squads. Kenji headed out first with his squad as well as ten other squads right along with him. Once the teams were out of sight of Amegakure Kenji's mind began to wander to the upcoming battles ahead.

He had thrived once before being a shinobi and he realized that in the past few years that he had been playing in the political arena he had missed the sensations that came with being a shinobi. He felt in a sense freer when jumping from branch to branch. He was also glad to be out of the ceremonial outfits and into the fitting smooth black pants, that clung to the wearer's legs when running like he was, and the mesh shirts, as he wore one over the spandex like black shirt below the mesh shirt that covered his spandex shirt as well as part of his upper arms and finally a flack jacket.

It only took about six hours to reach the hundred meters before the border. The squads fanned out creating a line along their holding area and looked into the trees to where the border would be. Within two hours all the shinobi were fanned out along the border area.

The man was shifting restlessly on his feet. He wanted to wait until night fell to start his attack. He was sure that the opposing shinobi knew that they were there and that was fine with him. They weren't doing anything on either side but just waiting for the other to make a move.

* * *

**Fire/Rain Border**

**Konoha Shinobi**

* * *

"Kakashi." A voice called behind him and he looked back over his right shoulder to get a look at the man that had called his name. It was Genma.

"I know." was the only thing the man said back to the other.

"We don't have enough shinobi to fight that many." Genma was telling him.

"Reinforcements should be on their way." Kakashi quelled the man. "When they do attack just make it look there is a larger number than what we really are and wait for the reinforcements. Until then we wait for their first move." the man behind him nodded and continued to stand by his team leader.

* * *

**Fire/Rain Border**

**Night**

**Rain Shinobi**

* * *

The darkness fell like a thick blanket encasing the forest with itself. Kenji silently send orders to have the men prepare for the first advance. He knew that the Konoha shinobi were lacking in numbers and that pleased him, at least hopefully breaking through we would an easier task than what he thought it would be.

He divided the entire group of squads into three platoons of men. He would stay with one platoon and fight directly in front of them and then the other two platoons would go both to the north and south and try to get around the Konoha shinobi and surround them on all sides and within a half hour all shinobi were in place and Kenji gave the signal to move forward.

The Rain shinobi silently made their way through the trees to come to the border but before he could give out a signal to attack all the shinobi grabbed onto the trees they were on not wanting to lose their balance as a tremor shook the earth. Kenji's eyes narrowed towards the other side of the border where the Konoha shinobi were laying in wait for them. The tremor had to have been caused by them.

Once the tremor stopped he was about to give another order when a blast from both the north south caught his attention. He silently cursed, Konoha had followed his men. Before another interruption could interrupt him he signaled part of the squads to make a frontal attack. His eyes watched as the men dove from the trees to the ground and only a few minutes later could he hear the clashing of kunai on kunai.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Uchiha Compound**

**Two Days Later**

**Morning**

* * *

They had received the message informing them that they needed to head out towards the border that morning. They both were eager yet hesitant at the same time to go out. Both had enjoyed the last couple of days to rest from everything that had happened, as well as exerting energy into other activities besides resting.

Sakura had gone to Ino's house though she had already been sent to the Fire/Mist border to be a medic on that front, but she had found the spare key and had gotten the rest of her things that would be valuable to her and the coming fight.

Viridian eyes watched as the man coolly put together his ensemble. He wore the normal jounin black pants that Tsunade had provided for him as well as other necessities that one might need to fight a battle. He shucked on the black shirt also provided with the clear stitching of the Uchiha fan on the back between the shoulder blades.

He had gotten up earlier than she had so she watched him from underneath the dark covers of the bed. After tucking his shirt in he turned around to see Sakura staring right at him, watching him as he dressed for the battle that on some way they would both enter. Walking over to her side he bent down and kissed her hard against her lips, her having no qualms about what he was doing.

"Tsunade wants to see us before we leave." he quietly said after breaking the kiss.

She shook her tussled hair and slowly unwound herself from the bedsheets before grabbing a shirt and putting it on and then going into the closet to get some new clothes. She didn't take too long in the shower and when she came out she was dressed in her black shorts, white medical skirt, and the ever infamous sleeveless red shirt with the Haruno symbol etched into the back.

Walking down the stairs she towel dried her pink locks. Meeting Sasuke in the kitchen she saw him eating a raw tomato as she went to grab an apple. She could feel his eyes look her up and down before returning to his own fruit to eat.

After grabbing the apple she went back up the stairs to drop off the towel in the bathroom and then start to gather her medical supplies and to put them in her pack in an organized fashion so she would know where everything was when she needed it. After double checking she had everything, she put the pack around her waist snapping it together on her front side.

Hearing Sasuke come up the stairs she turned around to see him at the doorway with a look of 'are you ready?'. Quietly understanding what he was silently saying she nodded and moved towards him and the two went down the stairs, and putting on their respective footwear left the house and the compound to head towards Tsunade's office for the last minute instructions they were to receive before heading towards Rain and their own battlefield, and its several meanings.

* * *

**I know, kind of a filler chapter, but it gets better next chapter, because next chapter something cool happens.**

**_Next Chapter: The war front, and a time skip and the moment everyone's been waiting for, Kenji meets his demise. i suck at battle scenes but i think it turned out pretty good._**

**_Update: tomorrow, because i want to get this story done before i leave. _**

**I have a poll so please poll, just for fun.**

**please review, they make me happy.**

**yoyo  
**


	31. Chapter 30: A Deadly Battle

**The next chapter for you.**

**Thanks to those who reviewed**

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy the chapter.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 30**

**A Deadly Battle  
**

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* * *

  
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* * *

**1 Month Later**

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Forests**

**Fire/Rain Border**

* * *

The rain was drizzling over the land casting a gray shadow over everything. The dirt that had been there was now mud causing shinobi on both sides to unconsciously slip if they made a wrong step. Water was running everywhere, making small river on the ground. But the only good thing about the rain was that it washed away the blood, of enemies..........and friends.

Her body dropped exhaustedly to the ground. Bringing her knees up to rest her elbows on them she let her head hang down, pink hair dripping and twisted with dirt and the splatters of blood that she had received from the shinobi and kunoichi she had either saved or tried to as well as some of those who had confronted her on the battle field. She knew that the war was getting on just as poorly on the other fronts as it was here.

Reports came in almost daily letting each commander know of the casualties and deaths, as well as the chances of being successful from the other fronts. The birds were constantly being sent out and coming in. Hearing the squelching of someone approaching she managed to raise her head slightly to see the approaching person. The black nin pants and the black sandals gave no indication but looking farther up she saw the dripping raven bangs of her lover.

He looked exhausted, just like she was, and why wouldn't he be. He was stationed in the front lines for most of the time, hardly getting a reprieve from what he was doing, but he also had a drive to win. He wanted to keep her safe from the enemy, from harm, from Kenji, and all the wicked things he could very well do to her.

The water dripped off of his bangs to join the other many droplets that already encased the ground. Looking at him for only a moment more she let her head again fall again to see the space between her bent legs and the few pink tresses that escaped her short ponytail. Letting her body shudder from the rain and the cold she looked back up at the man above her.

"Come on." he told her lending his hand to her.

For a moment she just looked at the hand, studying it and wondering what he really wanted her to do. After a few moments she grabbed the slick hand and he helped her rise to her feet. She stared at the ground below her and for a second wondered what exactly they were doing. It wasn't until she felt the tug at her hand that she looked back up and noticed that Sasuke was trying to lead them away from their position and farther back towards the resting area that many of the shinobi recuperating from their turn at the front were at.

Within thirty yards they came upon several groups of shinobi that were trying to catch some sleep before they had to report back to the lines with their team. They passed by the teams that were resting and went to the spot that they had found when they had arrived weeks before. Hearing the noise of a small clatter she looked towards Sasuke who had unattached his kusanagi and let it rest against the tree before taking a seat against the forest floor and the trunk of the tree.

He had long since let go of Sakura's hand so she now watched him as his eyes closed and let his breathing slow down even if just a little. Taking the back of her hand she swiped it across her face removing several beads of sweat and water that decided to fall into her eyes, before she took to the ground as well sitting back on her knees.

In an almost silent invitation for her to join him, he parted his legs making a spot for her to come and rest against him. Opening an orb he glanced at her face before motioning for her to come and sit with her back to him, and she did. She curled herself together and leaned back against Sasuke's chest letting her head rest against his shoulder and feeling his chin a top of her own head, as the two drifted into a light sleep, gathering their strength for the upcoming fights that they would be in.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Fire/Mist Border**

**Shoreline**

* * *

Night was falling fast and it seemed that every time it did the enemy would fight that much harder against them. It was also a disadvantage in fighting when the battle was taking place on a shoreline. There was no real place for anyone to really try and surprise the enemy with an attack.

Hearing a few shouts to the west of the man, he immediately gave his position to see what was going on, but along the way there was a small skirmish going on that the man gladly joined the fray. His eyes could see the sparks that were given off of the kunai and shuriken that went against each other. Pulling out his own kunai he headed straight towards the first enemy that had his back to him.

The sun was peeking over the forests as the group of shinobi moved back from the beaches towards their holding area. Cerulean eyes watched as several of the medic nin made their way through the ranks to check on any of the injured shinobi . He watched as one of the blond nin he knew made her way to one of the other members of rookie nine, and that was her boyfriend, Shikamaru.

His heart ached silently wanting to know what had happened to his own original teammates. He wanted to know if they were okay, if they were alive, if they were safe. He had sent off a message a week ago to the Godaime wondering about his teammates and yet still no letter had come back in.

messages were coming in daily about the other fronts and how they were fairing. This front was doing well. They were on the winning side, but only because the enemy only had the sea to them and the water to escape into.

Walking further back into the resting area of the trees, he found Hinata near where he usually slept. She was sitting or rather kneeling on the ground on his blankets that he had. Her head lifted when she heard the sound of his footsteps as he walked over a few small twigs that broke under his weight. His heart hitched when he saw a small message rolled in her hand. She stood and held out the message to him and finishing the walk towards her he took the parchment and unraveled it.

_Uzumaki Naruto,_

_Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura are alive and well and are currently fighting at the Fire/ Rain border. Haruno Sakura's marriage has been annulled and will reside in Konoha when the war is over._

_Tsunade_

A huge sigh left his lips and he suddenly reached out towards Hinata to embrace her, telling her that Sasuke and Sakura were both alive and well and not in Kenji's hands anymore and that Sakura and maybe Sasuke would be returning to the village after the war.

He could feel the silent tears that left Hinata's eyes and he knew that he also needed to let Ino know that her friend was alright and that no harm was upon her. And that is what the two did after they got themselves composed again was to find Ino and Shikamaru and let them know of the good news that had come.

* * *

**1 Week Later**

* * *

**Rain Country**

**Forests**

**Fire/Rain Border**

**Rain Side**

* * *

He didn't care much for the rugged feeling he was feeling right now. Part of his face was caked in a light mud from the incessant rains and for once he damned the rain that was always constant in the Rain Country and at the border. He also had sweat that stuck to his person and made him sticky as well as the moisture that surrounded them from the rain.

The rain hadn't let up and it had been raining for over a week. Swiping the back of his hand over his face, he smeared some of the mud making it a lighter brown across his face and the sweat that had accumulated was taken off, if only for a moment.

He knew things weren't exactly looking the brightest. It had been five weeks and the several pushes they had made had been fruitless. They were hit right back with equal or more force than what they gave into the attack, and in the end only drove them back to their current position gaining nothing as a result. He was frustrated and so were his men. It seemed that on all fronts his men were having difficulties.

Now he only wished he still had Sakura and the Uchiha on his side of the battle. If he still had them he would probably be near Konoha or even in the gates. But that was no the case, in any case the Uchiha was going strong against him, fighting with Konoha, with Sakura in the back as a medic for his enemy forces. Hearing another explosion he made his way to a taller tree and overlooked where the smoke would be rising from.

* * *

**Fire Country**

**Forests**

**Fire/Rain Border**

**Konoha Side**

* * *

Her running feet slipped in the thick, wet mud causing her body to roll down a small hill. Once her body came to a halt as the bottom of the hill she got up off her belly and onto all fours before she was able to get all the way back up to her feet, her head feeling dizzy from her roll and bumping of her head on the way down.

Trying to scrape the mud off was a useless feat as it just spread over her body caking her even more than she already was. She started her run again. A shinobi had told her that the rebels were again making a stand in the northern part of the area and she had immediately started for that area, knowing that Sasuke would be up in that area for a few days.

Making sure not to slip anymore she was taken to the ground again by a large explosion that rippled through the surrounding area causing a large vibration and she knew only a jutsu could cause such an effect. Getting to her feet once again she made her way to the east of the area the explosion had been around and sure enough there were already shinobi and kunoichi that needed attention.

Her eyes roved the shinobi that trickled in making sure that Sasuke was not one of them. She really had no reason to worry about him but she did anyways. Shaking her head and the thoughts of Sasuke away she moved towards the first shinobi that needed her attention.

* * *

**Battlefield**

* * *

Red eyes peered over the damage he had done. Trees were burnt but the black flames were not being extinguished even though the rain wasn't letting up any. From the corner he could see other Konoha nin move around him to get to the enemy. He had no team to follow, and he did what he wanted to do.

Catching sight of someone in the trees on the other side of the area he quickly watched as the man got down from the tree and made his way almost in a stalking manner across the tree line that Sasuke had created. His eyes watched the man for a moment before figuring out who the man was. It was Kenji, probably coming to see what the commotion was about.

Sasuke followed the man for several minutes realizing that his surroundings were changing slightly as Kenji seemed to be heading farther north than where the other battles were taking place. In his mind it clicked that Kenji knew that he was being followed and probably by who, and wanted this battle to be more.....private, than the other battles that were right in the open.

The torrential rain wasn't letting up any as the Kenji finally stopped in a tree and jumped down to the ground in a semi-graceful manner. Sasuke peered down at the man waiting for the other man to make a first move, whether it be in movement or in speech. His hand clenched around the handle of kusanagi as he raised his head slightly, but his eyes still locked on Kenji's form.

Kenji knew he was being followed from when he went across the field that had been destroyed, and it was only a matter of time before he realized just who exactly was following him. When he realized it was the Uchiha he began to make his way farther away from an open area where other shinobi would be. He wanted this battle to be fought in private.

"I know you are there, Uchiha." Kenji spoke not staring at anything in particular, his head only swiveling around the clearing seeing what kind of terrain he was in. "I think it is time to end this." Kenji spoke almost indifferently to the other man that was somewhere around him.

Sasuke knew he shouldn't say anything, as it would give away his position so instead he decided to take Kenji's words to heart and make the first move against the man. He let go of his hold on his sword and instead reached for a kunai in his pouch that was secured against his thigh and in an instant he disappeared from his position.

Kenji was listening to see if he could hear anything. His form began to lax for a moment but it was a mistake, suddenly hearing a small whizzing sound he turned around and quickly drew a kunai, leaping back just at two kunai met in an embrace. He could see that Sasuke's face was determined and almost hateful.

Kenji landed on the ground from his small leap only to once again be dodging the kunai of the Uchiha. They went for a few minutes in almost a dance like way in the small clearing with only the sound of soon to be labored breathing, the squelching sound of feet hitting the ground and then rising, and the clink when metal hit another metal.

But the game soon grew boring to Kenji, and he took the incentive to mix things up a bit. Taking several steps back and avoiding another confrontation with Sasuke, he slowly put the kunai away and soon began to make hand symbols. Sasuke's eyes flickered red again, looking at the symbols and memorizing them, and getting himself ready for a counterattack of whatever was to come.

Sasuke watched as the other man finished the hand seals and whispered out something almost inaudible and to the lines of Doton, Yomi Numa. Sasuke felt the already squishy mud beneath his feet turn wetter and slicker. Looking down to the ground he began to see the earth around him start to turn murky and become a liquid that carried a stench of a swamp.

He could clearly see the mud, become a swamp liquid, make its way up his ankles and to his calves before he quickly got himself out of reach of the liquid. Red eyes turned to the once grinning Kenji, who was now frowning at his apparent loss of prey to his swamp.

Sasuke watched as Kenji remained close to the edge of the swamp. Looking at the swamp muck from the low branch of a nearby tree, he quickly deduced that there was water in the muck and seeing how close Kenji was to the edge of the swamp, Sasuke quickly acted. Drawing his own kusanagi, he watched Kenji move into a defensive stance, but the only thing Sasuke did was gather chakra into his feet and jumped to the murky top of the swamp holding himself up before pointing his blade at the swamp water, and uttering chidor nagashi.

Electrical currents shot out from the sword and sped through the water towards the intended recipient of the attack. Kenji being caught by surprise that his own jutsu was used against him didn't react fast enough and caught part of the electricity that shot him backwards a few yards, his back hitting a tree trunk.

Shaking the numb feeling from his body Kenji attack even more ferociously than before. The two entered into a battle filled with taijutsu and ninjutsu. With only minutes the surrounding area was scarred with burn marks from both fire and electrical currents as well as the indents of several of Kenji's own jutsu and they were still fighting each other.

* * *

**Medical Area**

**Few Miles Away**

* * *

Sakura had given the treatment needed to the injured shinobi and soon all of the injured were back on their feet, but the thing that had bothered her was the fact that when she had arrived, she had felt Sasuke's chakra, yet within a few minutes of her being there, it had seemingly disappeared. Her mind was going over every scenario that could have or was happening.

After finishing with the last shinobi she knew that she needed to find him and go after him, wherever he was at. Picking herself up off the ground she was kneeling on she checked her medical bag again making sure she had some necessities that could be used to help Sasuke just in case anything was happening to him or had happened to him.

She tried to spread her chakra around trying to find out where he might have gone. Getting a faint feeling of chakra from the north she turned to see if there was another shinobi around her, but she found none, the healed men already heading back out into the rain to get back into the fray, while some had retreated farther back to rest up before heading back out to face the enemy.

Frowning that no one would know where she would be going she sucked it up and headed straight to the north hoping to find Sasuke and whoever else might be up there. Quickly making her way to the north she began to feel the bursts of chakra and the aura of hate around an area, she masked her chakra and stealthily moved in to get a better feel of what was going on in the area.

Her eyes widened in surprise but at the same time not. She could clearly see the two figures as they went against each other in battle. One was Sasuke, she was sure. She could see his regular clothes and the symbol that was reflected off of his shirt, and the other after a few moments of squinting she recognized him as Kenji.

Her blood boiled slightly that she wasn't the one pummeling the man down but at the same time she was glad that Sasuke was doing the honors. Turning her attention back to the battle at hand she watched as the two went at it with force, determination, with no room for hesitation and questioning themselves. The battle could be considered beautiful at the way the two moved but at the same time it was deadly. The aura that surrounded the area was deadly, and she knew that at the end of the battle only one would survive.

He felt her chakra, as small as it may be, he felt it and knew exactly where she was positioned at. It was probably a good thing she was there, seeing as how he hadn't come out of this battle unscathed and he would be needing some medical attention afterwards. But forgetting about his physical well being he turned back to the battle at hand.

He knew he was angering Kenji and that would help lead to the end of the man. The other man was getting to emotional about the battle. Sasuke knew that somewhere along the way the Uchiha had gotten his pride and wounded it, and to Sasuke that was good. It made the man emotional to start to mess up.

Kenji had suddenly withdrawn a ninjato and had started to charge Sasuke. He immediately unsheathed his own sword and defensively dealt with the blow that he received. The battle then turned from a battle of taijutsu and ninjutsu to a battle of skill, with swords, but what Kenji didn't know was that changing the battle from where it made them both equal he was now at a large disadvantage.

Sasuke made sure to watch Kenji's movements carefully so he could try and find a misstep or a weakness in his movements so that when it came time Sasuke could strike and it would be the end of the battle, but Kenji was doing the same thing and accomplished the goal first by getting a strike on the outside of Sasuke's thigh, sending Sasuke stumbling back and Sakura muffling a strangled cry.

Sasuke quickly recovered from the strike and though he could feel the blood swell and run down his leg he continued to fight back, and with much more vigor than before. He needed to end it before another strike could be made on him. Maneuvering ever so carefully he was able to find an open area on Kenji and drove the sword forward and into the man's side causing the other man to yell out in pain before stumbling backwards followed by Sasuke.

The man fell to the ground opposite hand clutching his injured and now crimson side as Sasuke stood over him kusanagi positioned over the man. Kenji though his eyes showed pain also showed defiance towards the man looming above him. Sasuke's eyes still crimson as he looked down at the rebel leader below him, almost cowering on the ground. Sasuke lowered his kusanagi even further until the tip was just above the wounded man's heart.

"Chidor nagashi." Sasuke spoke emotionlessly, though his insides were seething, before plunging the sword with electrical currents through the man's heart effectively killing the man.

Sakura had to turn her head away as soon Sasuke spoke the words. She didn't want to watch what was coming and she cringed when she heard the tormented scream that Kenji gave out as the sword pierced him. She crouched there, hands to ears for a few moments before she heard her name being called.

When she heard her name being called she didn't react for a moment, but the second time it was called she removed her hands from her ears and looked around to see Sasuke looking around for her. She stood up and brushed the rain out of her face before she went over to where Sasuke was at. He led her over to a tree where he settled on the ground and she healed his injured leg as well as other minor injuries he had received and only afterwards did she engulf him in a hug which he returned.

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**So i officially suck at fighting scenes, but at least i did get rid of Kenji, so that counts for something. **

**Doton: Yoma Numi: Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld  
**

_**Next Chapter: Last chapter, what happens to Danzo, Sasuke's punishment, and loose ends taken care of. **_

_**Update: Tomorrow. **_

_**i think for killing kenji i should hopefully get a lot of reviews, so please review**_

**yoyo  
**


	32. Chapter 31: Completing a Circle

**Okay, kind of sad that the story is coming to a close. this is the final chapter. kind of emotional right now. i have thoroughly enjoyed writing this fic. and thanks to all those who have encouraged me throughout the story as well. **

**thanks for all the reviews for last chapter and previous chapters. i really never expected to have this many reviews, so thank you. **

**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy the last chapter, and by the way i hate writing the last chapter of fics so hopefully it is good.  
**

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**Chapter 31**

**Completing a Circle  
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**Three Weeks Later**

**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

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It had been three weeks since the battle between Sasuke and Kenji, and things were looking better than ever on all the fronts. After the news of Kenji's death reached the Rain Shinobi they put forth an effort to take revenge on their fallen leader but only after a few days did their lack of motivation set in and with no morale to keep going they fell back and went back into Rain, being pursued by the Konoha nin .

The other fronts seemed to be the same way. Though the other leaders were still alive, the main leader was dead and though the other three put forth and effort to rally their men in time it didn't matter and soon all the fronts were gone and the enemy shinobi either surrendered or retreated back into other countries.

Though the war was over with Konoha, there was still much to be done, including getting the countries back in order. Suna and Iwagakure finally came to help Konoha by lending shinobi to help the other non rebel shinobi of each nation revolt to get their country and village back, and the fighting was still going on. All nations were still on alert and would be until the other three rebel leaders were disposed of.

The three kages that were still holding their position had made several trips to the other countries in the possibility of helping the other villages get a new kage or leader and then making sure there was also a daimyo of each country to help govern the non shinobi people.

A new daimyo had been appointed in the Fire Country, a man by the name of Hashiro was appointed the daimyo having some sort of blood relation to the Furusawas. The man was a gentle man and promised to help lead the Fire Country and to not make aggressive movements towards Konoha. The man also had a son, but he chose a civilian woman to be his bride, which Sakura was grateful for.

The other countries were coming along only after two weeks but it would just be some more time before everything was settled again, and even Konoha still had problems to settle behind the giant walls that guarded the city.

Sasuke was put under arrest, or rather home arrest, having to stay at the compound unless he was escorted by none other than Sakura, who was his guard, seeing as how Sasuke drove off any other person that even tried to get near him, until his trial date.

But before Sasuke could be tried, Tsunade had another matter to take care of. Danzo was still under incarceration and was put on trial with Sasuke as a witness. It was a closed trial from the public and the only news that was give to them was that Danzo was a traitor to Konoha and that was enough information to convict him, but the people didn't need to know all the details.

Sakura also attended the trial seeing as how she had also seen files that had told her that Danzo was in league with the rebels. The trial was relative quick and the end was just as everyone thought it would be, with his association with the Rebels and the orders to eliminate the Uchiha Clan he was sentenced to death in a private setting, it would not be displayed for the public eye

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**Fire Country**

**Konoha**

**Uchiha Compound**

**Morning**

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There was one thing she enjoyed the most in the mornings, and that was the warmth she felt when she was in her lover's arms. They had only recently returned to Konoha, two weeks after Kenji's death, so they had only been back a week. The only thing they had really done since being back was sleep and attend Danzo's trial.

She was glad to be back in Konoha and especially with Sasuke. She had been unsure if he would return or not and when he had told her that he would indeed be returning to Konoha she had been overwhelmed with excitement. Her dreams might actually be becoming a reality.

When they had returned and though Sasuke had defeated Kenji he was still put under house arrest just because of his earlier crimes. He didn't make to much out of it only that his guard be Sakura, who readily agreed to his request. Tsunade didn't argue as well seeing as how she probably couldn't get the Uchiha to change his mind.

Rolling over slightly she was now laying on her back her head using Sasuke's outstretched arm as her pillow, as he was laying on his side. His other arm came to move up to her stomach and his palm rested on her flat belly. Rolling over again she was now laying so she was facing him, head still laying on his arm, and his hand now on her waist.

She knew that this was a big day, seeing as it was the day that Sasuke's trial was on. It wasn't until the afternoon but she knew they should probably get up anyways. Reaching her head forward she slowly planted kissed on his chest, causing his chest to rumble slightly with appreciation. Next she brought her hands into the fray and slowly dragged her one hand up and down his bare arm that was covering her, as she continued to plant kisses.

"Sakura." he whispered huskily.

"hn?" she replied back using his favorite word.

"What are you doing?" he murmured.

"Waking you up." she replied giving his lips a slow kiss, which he returned without hesitation.

"Waking me up or seducing me?" he asked back.

"Maybe both." she laughed lightly before kissing him again, arms coming to encircle his neck.

"Aa." he answered returning the kiss.

He was just starting to go a little farther when she broke the kiss and crawled out of the bed, him too stunned to react to her getting out of the bed, when usually she would have just given in and then they would have their morning lovemaking, but apparently not that morning. He frowned as he watched her wink at him before entering the shower.

When she got out of the shower, Sasuke was still slightly brooding in the bed, watching her out of the corner of his eye. She laughed at his expense once she got a good look at his expression before telling him to get a shower while she made some breakfast well more now like lunch, before they headed towards the Hokage Tower.

He nodded as he watched her leave the room as she was finishing tying the white obi around the deep blue yukata top and wearing black slacks that accentuated her form slightly. Sasuke begrudgingly got out of the bed, after being rejected by his lover and made his way to the shower.

The two shared a small lunch of miso soup with small roasted fish before the two set off side by side towards the Hokage Tower so that Sasuke could go through with his trial. Again the trial would be a private one not wanting the village to be in on it seeing as how it wasn't their decision about the Uchiha but the councilors.

Sasuke was upset that the councilors that had helped conspire to kill his clan would be apart of judging his trial, but Tsunade had assured him that her decision would overpower theirs and that he wouldn't have to worry, the best punishment would be given as they saw fit for him. Sasuke had grumbled slightly but had given into Tsunade's words.

Sakura latched onto his hand and gave it squeeze as the started up the stairs to the council room. Naruto and Kakashi would be there as well to hear the proceedings but other than that there would be no one but the other two councilors, Tsunade and themselves. The two were about to enter the room when Sakura stopped them, making Sasuke face her.

"I love you." She spoke suddenly and kissed him, desperately, which he gladly returned, knowing how this was affecting her.

"I know." was all he said before he kissed her again. A slow tantalizing kiss that drove her insane. "Me too." he spoke softly. He wasn't exactly ready to say those three words yet, but she understood. Kissing again the two let go of each other's embrace and walked through the door, hand in hand.

The members of the room rose their eyebrows seeing the interlocked fingers of the two. Sakura let go of his hand when they had gone so far in to sit next to Kakahsi and Naruto, while Sasuke went to stand before Tsunade and the councilors.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Tsunade started. "We have reviewed your crimes and have talked about it thoroughly. Is there anything you would like to say?" Sasuke shook his head, not wanting to say anything.

"Very well. Seeing as how you have killed Orochimaru, Uchiha Itachi, and several other Akatsuki as well as helping us defeat the Rebels, the council has already decided your punishment." Sakura could see Sasuke stiffen slightly at the word punishment.

"It has been decided that you will spend two months under house arrest, only going out with certain individuals, as will be discussed later. After that two month period you will be assigned the rank of chunin, and will have to wait a year to take the Jounin exams. You will have to demonstrate your loyalty to the village in that time and if circumstances show that you have not proven your loyalty to the village of Konoha, you will be re-evaluated and we will take action depending on your actions, so I suggest you be very, very careful for the next year." Tsunade told him sternly and Sasuke only nodded while Sakura was sighing in relief.

Once outside the room Sakura practically jumped the Uchiha, glad that he wasn't going to be sent to prison. He returned her hug with a little less enthusiasm than she had but he was still happy to some degree that at least he wasn't imprisoned for his deeds. Turning his face towards her she kissed him harshly, but showing how much she loved him through it.

Finally, both of them released each other to head towards Tsunade's office to hear the rest of what was going to happen especially with the house arrest and the other finer details that had to be worked out for everything that had gone on and at the end it only resulted in them both walking away from the hokage's office both content with what had just gone on.

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**Around 2 Years Later**

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Tucking his black long sleeve shirt into his pants he turned to face his wife, who was still laying lazily in bed, not wanting to move from her comfortable position on her side, head propped up on her palm with her elbow buried in the mattress, just watching her husband get ready for the mission he had that day.

They quietly talked with one another before the man bent over to give the woman a kiss before grabbing his bag and weapon from the corner of the room and leaving the room and the woman who flopped back onto her back after her husband exited. She was nervous about him going out right now seeing as she was seven months pregnant with their first child.

Rolling over to her side she stuck her face into his pillow and deeply inhaled his scent, that always seemed to intoxicate her senses as of lately, and thought about the last two years, which had been a hard and agonizing two years.

Sakura had been issued as Sasuke's guard while under house arrest and fulfilled the duty to its extent along with other things. After the two months of house arrest he had been promoted to chunin and was set on a team with older chunins that were more experienced, but he never really became friends with them. It was only a few months after that that Sakura had found out she was pregnant, but because of prior complications she again lost the child.

When the year mark came for Sasuke he took the next jounin exam and passed with flying colors, and was immediately placed on a team with Kakashi and Naruto, as well as Sai. The four had done extremely well together and were continuing to grow as a team, thought Sasuke and Naruto still had their moments of conflict.

It was also near that time when Sasuke decided to truly show his loyalty to the village and also to his woman as well by asking Sakura to marry him. The wedding was a small ceremony due to Sasuke's wishes, and Sakura had no qualms about it and then about three months later Sakura announced she was pregnant. Sasuke was ecstatic in his own way but was dutiful to his expecting wife, which was why she was nervous right now.

Tsunade had told her that Sasuke would be given less missions so the two could prepare for the child but Tsunade had told her that this mission was one that Sasuke needed to be on. Apparently one of the late rebel leaders had been spotted and two squads were to be sent to find him and who better than Sasuke? But he would be back and that was all that mattered to Sakura.

Getting out of the bed she began her daily tasks now that she was pregnant. She had started to work at the hospital again a few months after she had come back to Konoha and was enjoying it, rather than sitting around all day. She was happy to actually be doing something, instead of worrying over Sasuke for the next little while.

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**2 Weeks Later.**

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She was finishing the dishes that were in the sink when she heard the door of the home open and close and then the movement of someone taking off their sandals before entering further into the abode. Drying her hand she walked steadily towards the front of the house to greet the new comer.

His back was turned to her as she snuck up on him and wrapping her arms around his waist she buried her head in between her shoulder blades, and breathing in his scent. He straightened up the rest of the way and turned around to give her her hug back.

"I've missed you." she told him spreading her hands out across his clothed back.

"I always come back, though." he smirked back and she knew the meaning of it. After everything that they had been through he had always found a way to come back to her. Bending his head down to her level, he gave her a kiss.

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**Hope that was satisfactory. i always hate writing the last chapter, i don't know why i just do. so that's the end. hope it was good. **

**thanks to everyone that stuck with me through this incredibly long fic for me. i seriously never thought it would become over 30 chapters. **

**again thanks to everyone, my reviewers, and a special thanks to those who reviewed for like every chapter, to the people who favorited and alerted this story, you all rock. **

**well this was the last chapter so no more next chapter announcements, as well as no more updates. -sniffles-**

**So next story. Forced. i will let you know i have a release date planned and it won't be until next week. i am going to sneak it up next week sometime, but it will at night because of training for work. so here is the summary for FORCED**

Summary: She was forced to be there. He was forced to follow orders. When Sakura gets captured by Akatsuki her life is put in danger. But what is she to them? Leverage. Sasuke denies any feelings for his ex-teammate but when her life is always on the line he does whatever he is told. When he doesn't follow orders she gets hurt. Will Sasuke break free of their grasp and what will happen to Sakura for his retaliation?

Rating: M

**If you have any questions concerning the story, feel free to PM me about it. **

**also after this if you have the time please go check out my profile page and i will have a thing under my updates. that is important. **

**so please review and let me know how you liked this chapter and the whole overall story. i do take anonymous reviews. **

**so please review**

**until next time**

**yoyo  
**


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